Holocaust
by Not Just a Nerd
Summary: They were the victim of circumstances. What might have happened in the past that made Justin numb, emotionless? And what secret is Alex hiding at present? *JALEX* Trailer at my youtube. COMPLETED.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP or the song(s) I used. Any story/incident used about the Holocaust is purely fictional. No offense is intended. Disclaimed for the whole fic.**

**

* * *

Prologue**

_The room was dark, the tiny four windows closed, lights shut off, door locked. Seven little children sat at a corner, cuddled next to each other, hugging their knees closer to their chest. Two adults paced the room, ticking with anticipation and fear with each heavy breath they took. _

_The attacks had already begun. It could be their turn any time. 'They' would search for them, find them, and put an end to their miserable lives any time. But humans still cling to hope and even two seconds of extra life, so they weren't giving up without hiding._

_**Bang!**_

_The banging on the doors began, about ten armed men slamming on it mercilessly. The nine helpless human souls hid behind a small table and two small chairs, hoping against hope that it would protect them. _

_The door broke, falling to the ground with a thud, and lights were flicked on. Hurried footsteps could be heard around the room, their ruthless hands reaching out to muffle the helpless screams. _

_**BHAM! **_

_**Ahhhhh!**_

_Blood…blood and blood…_

* * *

"All my dreams are scattered,

All my dear ones are away.

A season came,

I lost my happiness, found sorrow.

Life is not conscious at all…

I did not know that

The blood from the heart

Will flow through my eyes.

The news was correct.

My world would be shattered.

Only darkness would remain.

In just one moment…."

-An approximate translation of

'Bikhre sabhi sapne hain'

From 'Bas Ek Pal'

* * *

He sat in the chair, looking down at the ground, eyes unfocused, vision blurred, mind blank. His hands lay numb by his side, his legs dead and unmoving.

"Justin, honey", his mother placed the plate on the coffee table, and ran a hand through his hair softly. "It's time to eat."

His eyes never moved, his head never shook in response, his limbs didn't shift either. He still sat motionless, as if he hadn't heard her.

Theresa sighed in defeat. It had been three years, three years since Justin had become emotionless and unresponsive, three years since anyone had last heard his voice, or seen his eyes move, three wretched years during which he did not respond to any kind of therapy. She stuffed the food in a spoon, forced it into his mouth, force-feeding him, just like she did when he was a baby.

"Your father and I were planning another vacation." She spoke, a smile on her face, even though she knew he wouldn't respond- a mother never gives up hope. "Aren't you excited honey?"

The only response was his regular breathing, and his mouth closing against the intruding spoon.

A daring phone call interrupted their tender moment, and Theresa frowned. "I will be right back, okay?" she assured him, and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey mom." Alex whispered on the other end.

"Oh, Alex… it's you." Her mother huffed in relief.

"Umm, yeah, it's me." Alex replied in confusion. "Why? Did I disturb you or something? Are you busy?"

Theresa shook her head. "No, I was… I was just feeding your brother."

"Oh." Her voice fell immediately, no matter how hard she tried to conceal the fact that she cared. "H-how is h-he?"

Her mother looked at Justin's frozen figure and sighed. "Just like he was the last time you called…. I still don't get it… how did he become like this? Why?"

There was the sound of a sharp inhalation on the other end. "Umm, mom, I am sorry but, I've gotta go now. I'll call back later, okay?"

"Okay." Her mother barely managed to say before she hung up.

* * *

"_This is not right Alex. This is totally unfair…why did you do this? Look at what you did! You searched for every single emotion in every corner of my heart, found them, and killed them all, brutally, ruthlessly. Like the massive holocaust… I can't feel anything anymore, Alex. Nothing at all…"_

She quickly folded the crumbled paper and stuffed it in her purse, trying to hide it from her eyesight, trying to protect herself from her guilt. That was the last letter she had ever received from him, the last words he spoke to her, before all of this happened.

She quickly grabbed her jacket, locked her room, and headed out of the office. The driver opened the door of her car, and she climbed in, sitting in the back seat. Lifting up the glass of the window against the bright city lights, and hiding her eyes behind big fat sunglasses, she stared off blankly at space, not comprehending anything at all.

Her mother's words rang in her ears. _How did he become like this?_

_

* * *

_

_Ten years back…_

"Justin." She smiled at him in amusement, after watching him sulk for two whole days. "Seriously, dude, you've got to get over your three month-old history book."

He still kept his eyes fixed on the floor, sniffling quietly. "You know what's different about this book? I was really enjoying reading about the world wars."

"Wow, look, Mr. Peace is reading about big boring wars." She teased.

He finally looked up and glared at her. "I want my book back Alex."

She scoffed and ignored him.

"I am gonna tell mom and dad." He warned in a fully unconvincing voice.

She scoffed again. "No you wouldn't. At least not if you love yourself….Then again, you do a lot of homework, so maybe you don't."

He growled in frustration, standing up and grabbing her arm. "Just give it back to me!" he demanded in exasperation.

She stuck her tongue out at him, yanked her arm away from his grasp, and happily headed up the stairs.

He banged his hand in the table in frustration. Why couldn't Alex just listen to him? And why wouldn't she place her terms before him already? What did she want? Homework? Money? Spells? What?

His thoughts were interrupted when a big fat book crashed into the floor, thrown from upstairs.

"ALEX!"

* * *

(A/N: I rewrote this chapter 4 times :| Part of this story is set in the past (teenage years), and part in future (adult years). The next 10-15 chapter will be in flashback, narrating the past. Don't worry about keeping the characters in-character, even though it's angst with a serious theme. **So, what do you think? Comments and criticism are both welcome. Feel free to ask questions too. Please tell me what you think!) **

**P.S: need angst-y songs for the fic. Send me recommendations through PMs, I will look up the lyrics. :)  
**


	2. Ch 1: Beginning of the end

**Chapter 1: beginning of the end**

_"I always looked at you with indifference, you were just a friend... and suddenly you are everything, everything for me- my beginning and my end."- An approximate translation of an extract from 'Le eres todo' by Luz Casal_

* * *

The funny thing about life is, we never notice when exactly a thing began- we only notice it when it has grown so vast that it cannot be ignored anymore. Take that wicked plant in your terrace for example- you noticed it when its roots started damaging your house, but you have no idea when exactly it started growing.

The first time he noticed this thing was when they were in the middle of a fight.

"WHY did you tell mom and dad?" she growled, throwing a pillow at him in fury, and another when he ducked the first.

"I had to!" he defended, grabbing the pillows that landed on the floor and using them as shield for the future attacks. "It's for your good."

"_My good_? My foot!" she stomped her feet for emphasis. "You just did this to get me into trouble. Ugh! I hate you Justin."

And suddenly, that hurt. The words hurt him more badly than he had expected. Sure, they had fought before, and he always felt bad when she impulsively blurted out things like this, but this time, he felt a small tremor shake the core of his heart. His blurry vision made the presence of tears known. "You h-hate me?" his voice cracked at the word, strewn with deep emotions.

Her eyes softened a bit. She hadn't meant it like that- she didn't mean it. "No, I…" she stammered, licking her dry lips. "Oh would you just let me be mad at you?" she whined, sitting down with a frown on her face.

He smiled in relief, blinking back the tears. "Yeah, sure, have fun."

"Oh, I will have fun with the revenge." She shot at him as he exited the room.

* * *

Relief? Pfft… total lie. Something was twisting and turning, gnawing at his stomach, throbbing in his heart, screaming in his mind, pounding at his head- something big was happening to him, and he wasn't sure if he didn't understand what it was, or he if didn't want to admit that he did.

"_I hate you Justin."_

If venom could be heard, he was sure it would sting like this. The words kept echoing in his ears, the image of her spiteful eyes replaying in his mind. He knew the words weren't meant to come out like that, to sound like that, but this knowledge did not diminish the effect it had on him. The tears kept coming back to his eyes, and he grew so tired of fighting it, that he never noticed when he fell asleep and when his tears dried.

* * *

The second time he noticed was during another fight, and he also noticed how it was growing so fast.

"YOU BROKE MY LAPTOP?" he yelled furiously.

She winced, eyes filled with guilt, placed an arm on his shoulder which he quickly brushed away. "Look, it was an accident, okay?" she insisted.

He glared at her more violently; yet, the anger wasn't building up inside of him. He was supposed to be upset, mad, and freaking out as if it was apocalypse standing in front of him. Instead, he remained calm, collected, cool, noticing her shift her weight from foot to foot, brush those lovely brown locks aside with her petite little fingers, and glance at him guiltily, and that was what was angering (frightening) him.

Before he knew it, he opened the door and stormed out of the room, too angry with himself to force himself to be angry with her.

* * *

"_I…I am… s-so… I… Ugh. This will not work…I need to try something else…okay... I know! Hey, Justin, I wanted to say s-so… Ugh! I can't say it!"_

He leaned against her doorframe, smirking in amusement as he watched her practice her apology in front of her mirror, wondering when exactly she would sense his presence and turn around to slap (kill) him.

"_Okay, how about this? Ahem…Look, Justin. I didn't mean to break your laptop, okay? It was pretty useful for me… pfft. I used it more than you d-"_

She paused, mouth hanging open, wide-eyed and turned around to face him.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed dramatically. "Alas! I wish I had brought my camera."

"Only you would say '_alas_'" she mimicked, and then imitated his gesture, crossing her arms as well, ready for the battle. "You came to my room without knocking?"

"Your door wasn't locked." He pointed out.

"So what! That didn't mean you can just come in without asking!" she roared.

"Okay, technically, I did not _come in-_ I was standing by the door." He reasoned again.

This time, she let out a long roar of frustration, and started pushing him out of the room. "Tell anybody about this, and you'd be as good as dead." She threatened, slamming the door shut in his face.

Before he went away, he yelled from the other end of the door. "Let me tell you my answer Alex. You are forgiven. As long as you don't break it again."

* * *

It hurt. It hurt badly. Not being able to be mad at her was the worst disaster of his life. She was getting away with breaking his things, pranking him endlessly, and all the usual troubles she caused him. He couldn't do a thing to make himself scold her, he couldn't do a thing to try and make her stop. Instead, he spent his days waiting eagerly for her mischief, and wasted his nights tossing and turning in his bed, trying to figure out what was wrong with him.

The third time he noticed this thing was also the day he understood what was wrong with him.

She had come home from a date, and there was a mark on her shoulder, just below the curve of her neck. It could be easily hidden by her top, but instead, she was flaunting it to him.

"Nice work, huh?" she asked smugly when she caught him staring. "Bet you never got any!" she clicked her tongue in mock sympathy, making him even angrier.

He grabbed her arm, and shoved her against the wall-hard. She gasped in shock, as her back hit the rough surface. "Justin! You are hurting me!" she yelled, breaking free from his grasp. "Dude! Take it easy!"

He stepped back, breathing in deeply. "Did he touch you?" his voice was so dangerously low, his eyes so fiery, it sent a cold shiver down her spine.

"No." She whispered, eyeing him cautiously, the earlier teasing forgotten.

He touched the mark on her shoulder, and she winced. "It still hurts, doesn't it?" he snarled, pulling her to the living room, and forcing her to sit.

"What are you-" before she could even complete, he returned with ice-cubes, and started rubbing it on the wound.

She hissed at the cold touch, and glared at him. He shrugged and continued his work, making sure his touch was gentle.

"Don't let them hurt you like this." He warned when he finished.

"_Them_?" she asked incredulously. "It's one guy. Justin, are you-"

The words got choked in her throat when he cupped her cheeks and forced her to meet his intense gaze. "No one else can mark you." He whispered to himself.

Her eyebrows narrowed in confusion. "Huh?"

He pulled back and got up from the couch faster than a bullet. "I don't want stupid little guys marking my little sister. Get it?"

She rolled her eyes, nodded, and then smiled evilly. "Awww, you do care about me." she teased.

He scoffed, dashing up the stairs, shooting back a 'dad would love it when I tell him about this' to her 'you do care about me!'

* * *

He cared about her, he did- more than he should. That night, he felt his heart and soul was being engulfed in flames. He kept staring at the hand that treated the wound, trying to get rid of the images of some sick freak digging his dirty teeth into her smooth, flawless skin. He grunted in realization, shaking his head furiously. This couldn't have been happening! He couldn't have been feeling like this! He kept shaking his head and punching at his pillow, as he cried himself to sleep. Crying couldn't end love or pain though, so the next day, everything came back to him.

For the next seven days, he kept looking up definitions of 'incest' from different dictionaries, different books, different websites, trying to stop himself, trying to wake himself up from this horrifying nightmare. He thought about his family and friends, how they would react to this, how _she_ would react to this.

Nothing worked, nothing… It was kind of like the truth spell- you knew it was on you, but you couldn't do a damn thing to stop yourself!

* * *

She noticed this thing after about a month. He had been acting all sorts of weird during this time, ignoring her at times, being extremely nice to her at other times, and she had started thinking about the reason. She brushed the scary thoughts that came to her mind, because, come on, he's Justin Always-Right Russo. He couldn't possibly be feeling something so sick!

Then the night came, and her fears were confirmed- the night when she woke up in the middle of some dream, the night when she turned around in her bed and saw him standing near her doorframe, the night she saw those tears of helplessness in his eyes and knew what they were for. The night shattered the lie she was living in, forcing her to come face to face with her brother's sickest truth.

Yet, she kept quite that night, unsure what to do, and decided to think about this before she did anything. _One_ wrong move and Justin might kill himself.

* * *

Her mouth jumped in her chest as soon as he plopped on the couch beside her. "Hmm, News Channel. Alex." he frowned in annoyance, and passed her the bowl of popcorn, smiling at her sweetly.

She turned the volume of the television down, and tossed it on the table. "Why are you being so nice to me lately?" she demanded, keeping her eyes fixed on his face.

"Nice?" he chuckle came out as a nervous squeak. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know." She pretended to think. "Let's see…You do everything I tell you to do, without even fighting about it! You never tell mom and dad about my pranks. You even bought me that dress that week! I think you know what I mean by 'nice', Justin!"

He looked down at the ground. "I think you already know the answer, Alex." he said seriously.

She blinked, punched his arm. "No, I don't! How will I know if you don't tell me? And if I knew would I be asking you, genius?"

He sighed, stifling a sob. "If you really don't know, then you need to either." And with that, he stormed up to his room, to his bed, and she sank to the ground, both of them crying in defeat.

* * *

**(A/N: how's this? Tell me, tell me! Review!) **

**Important: just know that my exam is in two weeks. Any time I don't update, know it's because of that. **


	3. Ch 2: Lost myself

**Chapter 2: Lost myself**

**(A/N: just so we are clear, the part in italics in the prologue, i.e. the story about the holocaust is symbolic, nothing to do with Justin and Alex.)**

* * *

He stood by her doorframe every night- neither taking a single step in, nor a single step back- in the exact same position- he was stuck, with not a clue on how to move. His eyes stared at her face night after nights, minutes after minutes, moments after moments. His breath hastened, his eyes burned, and before he knew it, tears flowed down his cheeks. He wiped his tears away with the sleeves of his shirt, took a last look at her sleeping face, turned on his heels, and ran away.

She would watch him watching her every day, with half opened eyes. She would toss and turn in her bed; she would squirm and squirm and squirm, until he went away. And then, she would open her weary eyes, and stare at the family portrait in her room. She would observe her father, her mother, her little brother- him, and herself. Her eyes would scan his face intensely, looking for any hint, any clue, any sign of any change- such a huge thing can't happen overnight, right? When she would find nothing, her eyes would move on to her own face, and her heart would pound furiously in fear as she scrutinized her expression for anything that might be remotely close to sickness. She would sigh in relief when she found nothing, and assure herself that there was nothing from her side. The treacherous tears would leave her eyes just then, and she would fall asleep while convincing herself that she was just concerned about her brother….

* * *

She heard tiptoes in her room, and knew who it was. Her heart started pounding again, knowing that he finally took a step ahead, but she forced her eyelids to be shut. He stood in front of her sleeping frame, hovering over her, watching her, breathing her scent in. His hands went to her forehead, gently pushing back her hair. Running his hands through her locks, he reached for her cheeks, caressing them ever so lightly. Her toes curled up instinctively- she hated herself. His hands stilled on the corner of her lips for a moment, before he traced the outline of her lips with his fingertips. Her lips parted, and a soft gasp escaped her mouth.

He turned on his heels and hurried out of the room. She opened her eyes against the darkness and emptiness of her room.

* * *

When she woke up the next day and looked herself at the mirror, she was horrified to see dry tear trails over her cheeks, but even more horrified to see that there was no trace of disgust, fear, or hatred in her eyes.

When he woke up the next day, he didn't even bother to open his eyes.

* * *

She noticed he wasn't in the breakfast table, and that scared her.

"Umm, where's Justin?" she asked casually, as she sat down on her chair, beside his empty one. "Playing with his robots again?"

"Alex." Her mother warned. "Your brother said he's sick… I am gonna take the breakfast to his room."

"Nonono", she sat up instantly, "I mean, mom… don't worry about it. I will take the breakfast to his room."

Everyone looked at her skeptically. "Really?"

"Really!" she convinced, grabbed his plate- and hers- and ran up the stairs.

* * *

She pushed his door open, without bothering to know. "Get up, dork. I brought your breakfast."

He groaned, still motionless. "Leave me alone, Alex." he pleaded.

She shrugged. "One last chance, _Justine_. If you don't get up, I am gonna eat your food."

Silence fell upon the room then, a dreadful silence, and they couldn't even hear their own heartbeats.

"I am sick." He finally breathed out.

She knew what he meant, knew he was upset about last night, but talking about it would mean actually acknowledging it, actually admitting that this thing is happening between them, so instead, she walked up to his bed, and gently stroked his hair.

His eyes opened for the first time that morning, and he looked at her in disbelief. "You don't hate me?"

She snorted, blinking back the tears. "Of course I hate you. I have been hating you since I learnt to walk and talk, duh."

He closed his eyes again, and shook his head. (_You know what I mean, Alex._)

She squeezed his hands. (_I know, Justin. It's okay.)_

That's when he rushed to her arms and hugged her tightly, wrapping his arms around her, letting himself cry. "I am sorry." He whispered hoarsely, "I am so, so, so sorry!"

She blinked back her tears again- why did this have to happen to her brother? Couldn't it be someone else? "Shh… it's okay."

Nothing was okay, but they could pretend that everything was. At least for a while…

* * *

Mixed feelings, opposite emotions- that was what she faced for the next three months. At times, she would see how miserable her brother was- because of her- and feel sorry for him. She would spend time with him, teasing him, taunting him, trying to cheer him up, trying to make everything normal between them. At other times, she would feel that he would never be able to move on if she kept hanging out with him. So she would ignore him in every possible way, leaving him alone, and in pain.

The only feeling that he faced during these three months was confusion. What was going on with Alex?

* * *

"Hey!" he greeted excitedly, dashing onto her room. "Wanna see something?"

Her eyes lit up in mock excitement. "Oh my gosh! Are you gonna dress up like a clown in front of the whole school?"

He frowned in confusion. "No."

Her shoulders slumped, and she scoffed lightly. "Then I don't think I want to see your geek-junk."

He rolled his eyes and sat down on her bed. "What do you think of this?" he asked, handing her a gift-wrapped box.

She eyed him suspiciously, and finally opened it. Her eyes bulged out of her skull when she noticed the tiny color-pot inside it.

"Magic color-pot." He explained. "The color will never run out. Now you can paint endlessly…"

She stared at him in disbelief. "Justin…."

He patted her shoulder sympathetically, and gave her a bright smile. "I know you are not going to say thank you, but seeing you happy is just enough for me."

He got up to leave, but she called behind his shoulder. "Justin! I… I know what you feel about me and…. I am not telling you anything about that…. But…. Please don't do these things…. You don't need to waste all your money for me… I… _don't lose yourself, Justin."_

Silence, silence, silence….

"I have already lost myself, Alex." He stormed out (ran away) of her room.

* * *

**(A/N: no updates till 22-23****rd**** Sep. I've got my exams coming up, wish me luck, wish me luck! I NEED to get all A-s, or I will be grounded and banned from writing. REVIEW, PLEASE!) **


	4. Ch 3: The way out

**Chapter 3: The way out**

_"Because you don't listen to what is so close to you...just the noise outside. And even though I am next to you, I disappear for you..."- An approximate translation of 'Me Voy' by Julieta Venegas  
_

* * *

The ignoring began again, and her ignoring him had him equal parts hurt and equal parts confused. Why would she be ignoring him? The only reason he could think of (and he really did not like to think of this) was that she was totally, completely disgusted by him. That hurt, hurt bad, like an arrow pricking in a sensitive part of the flesh.

This had become routine by that time- she would ignore him all day and he would cry all night; ten to fifteen days later, she would talk to him like nothing ever happened, and he would still cry all night.

Why was she acting like this? He had no clue- only she knew. (He never really found any rational reasons for any of his sister's actions.) That however did not change the fact that he wished for her to make up her mind already- that would be the only way he would be able to make up his. Until then, they would just be oscillating between this 'we are the closest siblings ever' and 'I don't know you dude' thing- he didn't have a choice. He wasn't strong enough to make a choice and stick to it.

Which was why the only thing he could do was sit at the sub-shop cash counter and sulk, while she merrily chatted with Harper and made fun of the customers.

Eyes meet….

**Run!**

* * *

When she was ten and splashed paint on his shirt, grinning like a lunatic, he splashed her back, and thus the paint war begun. It's the thing they do, it's who they are. They are like that swing in the playground, going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, never pausing, never halting, just going back and forth. They grew up with her shooting insults at him, and him coming up with a retort, with her pulling pranks on him, and him getting even with her, and then, her getting even with him, and thus it went on. She believed in the 'eye for an eye' motto. (She didn't really care if the world turned blind this way.) He preferred looking upon this as a practical application of Newton's third law of motion. (But he would rather not think too much about the reactions her childish actions caused.)

This was their natural thing. So when she continued ignoring him, he naturally started ignoring her back. Payback- fair enough!

The war had begun again… (How he wished they were still being stained with something as simple as paint!)

* * *

New York's a big city- broad roads, busy traffic (and horrifying traffic jams), tall buildings that really do look like they are touching the sky, thousands of stores, hundreds of people on every street - you can easily blend with the crowd and wouldn't even notice when your sister passes right by you, talking on the phone with someone, bumping shoulders with you.

The Russo household is incredibly small. You can sit in the living room and hear her loud music coming from her room upstairs.

New York or his own house- the gnawing feeling never left.

* * *

Sometimes he wondered if their parents were really that dense, that oblivious to the silence prevailing between the eldest Russo siblings- or if they preferred not to notice the sibling rivalry thing. (Rivalry? Yes. He's not sure it's a sibling thing.)

Whatever might have been the case, they were entrusted with the task of storing some things in the store room. And of course their mother had chosen the top of the tall closet for the purpose! (Seriously! Who has brand new closets in their store rooms? And why does that word bring forbidden images to his head?)

So, instead of sitting at the chair there and being lazy- like she usually did- she pulled the chair, positioned it in front of the designated closet, and started piling the things up- randomly, of course. She couldn't keep coming down the chair again and again and picking up the remaining things- humans only have two hands- so he kept supplying her with the things, wordlessly.

Who said silence couldn't speak? The word 'awkward' was screaming through the silence searing the room. 'Awkward', 'awkward', 'awkward'- it kept buzzing in his ears, ringing in his heart, again and again, and again and again, and really, repetitions can be so annoying!

She groaned and hissed while putting in a particularly heavy something (no one really wants to know what their mother keeps in those polythene bags), when she lazily held out a hand, waiting for him to pass the next thing.

An empty polythene bag landed on her palm.

She turned around to glare at him, only to find him looking at her with a mischievous grin. She had meant to spit out bitter words at him, honestly, but she's a human, and humans do break at some point of time or other, do fail at concealing their true feelings. So when the smile crawled on her lips, betraying her, neither of them was surprised in the least. (Two weeks is a long time, and it's incredible that she lasted- even more incredible that he did.)

She threw the polythene at his face in a playful gesture. "Seriously Justin?"

He grinned his goofy grin, taking relief in the fact that the tense atmosphere in the room was slowly deflating, that things were, once again, going back to 'normal' (well, as close to normal as things could be. Normal is an abstract concept anyway.). "Whoa! That could have choked me!"

* * *

And why did she have to stand RIGHT near the door, blocking it, while talking to her friends? He had to get into that class room at that very moment (yeah, he did regret taking advanced chemistry alongside her) and he had to call out her name and ask her to move.

That could be a problem. With the way she was determinedly looking away from him, even though she surely felt his presence, he knew they were back to zero, back to ignoring. The anger and hurt he felt inside him didn't really send him the green signal for talking to her.

This ignoring thing was really getting onto his nerves now- the unpredictably haunting him in the form of anxiety (One moment she smiles at him and his life is lit with hope, and the next she gives him the cold shoulder, and the flames blown off by the wind), the fact that Alex got to call the shots making him mad.

So instead, he carefully passed through the vacant space beside her, making sure not to touch even a single thread of her cloth, or a single cell of her skin (That skin is _pure_ sin), supported himself on cold metal/wood/something (he wasn't really paying attention), palm of his left hand digging into something sharp.

It was only when he was he in class that he noticed the wound sting. He spent the whole period staring at the tiny blood drops oozing through the skin of his palm.

He was **Stinging. Bleeding. Burning. Crashing. Falling. Crumbling.**

He was stinging, every breath becoming painful, every heart-beat straining. He was bleeding, feeling like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, or worse- as if a sword was thrusted into his body, passing right through his heart, and stabbing it like a fork stabs meat. He was burning with guilt, feeling like his entire essence was ablaze in Hellfire. He was crashing, feeling like he would pass out any moment, like he would tumble to the ground, and crash into the harsh soil of reality. He was falling, falling, falling- he was falling for her. He was crumbling- his heart was crumbling to pieces.

He was **Stinging. Bleeding. Burning. Crashing. Falling. Crumbling. **He had never felt such vivid, intense things, and that too together! Gosh! What was she doing to him?

* * *

After spending a night staring at the tiny cut in his palm, and contemplating what to do- he finally got it.

In order to get rid of this… _thing_, all he needed to do was face her, to look her in the eyes and tell her that he hated what she was doing to him, to make her see how unfair it was, to let her know that it was hurting him, and to demand her to end this crap and make her choice already.

If only he knew how hard it would be! If only he knew that it would make all his emotions surface- only to be killed!

_

* * *

"I carry a thorn stuck within my chest... Air, I am short of your air, I am short of your breath... It scares me not being able to caress you..."- An approximate translation of an extract from 'Una Espina Clava' by Estrella Antonio_

**

* * *

**

(**A/N: yeah, sort of filler, but my exams are knocking at my door, remember? I am trying, believe me… Now that the underlined line gives you an idea about the plot of this story, review and tell me what you think! Well-written? Enjoy reading it? Need improvement?)**


	5. Ch 4: Inner battles

**(A/N: the filler poem in the middle is mine. Don't copy? BTW, thoughts are in italics.)**

**Warning: long chapter. Like I said, I am gonna FULLY concentrate on this fic now... But stick with me; things get interesting in the end. ;)**

**Chapter 4: inner battles**

* * *

He stood in front of her room, taking in deep breaths, trying to calm himself, reassure himself, trying to pull his strength together. He reached out for her doorknob and tried to turn it, but his hands paused. He licked his lips nervously and pulled back his hands.

_I can't do this!_

_But I can't live like this for the rest of my life!_

_Yeah, but it's useless… will Alex actually make a choice?_

_How will I know if I don't try?_

_I… I am scared._

After hesitating for a few moments, he finally reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out the no fear ring. As he slipped it into his finger and its magical effects begun, all fears vanished from his body, and he was finally able to turn that doorknob and enter her room.

She was sprawled on her bed, texting someone, but at the sound of the doorknob turning and the sight of her brother, she sat up with a jerk. "What are you doing in my room?" she yelled, and not without spite in her voice.

He closed the door behind him and fixed his gaze on her. "We need to talk."

She scoffed, narrowing her eyes. "Uh, if you didn't notice, we haven't really been talking for the past five days, so…" (Not that she was counting.)

"That's exactly what we need to talk about." He snapped, crossing the distance across the room and standing right in front of her.

She looked taken aback for a moment. When did Justin become so confident and brave? "Justin-"

He held up his hand to silence her, and she caught sight of his ring. An evil grin appeared on her lips. "Wow. Look who's using magic without supervision…" she teased.

"Don't try to change the topic." He snapped at her, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. She gulped, afraid of her brother for the first time in her life. His face was a mixture of anger, despair, confusion, regret and many such emotions. But his eyes held pain- and only pain, and she instantly felt guilty, knowing she had been the cause of it.

"We can't go on like this Alex." he sounded pained, broken, and shattered to no end.

"Go on like what?" she asked nervously.

"This." He motioned between them with his free hand, then rested it on her shoulder. "One day you decide that you want to talk to me and the next day you act like you don't even know me."

She laughed weakly. "Hey, that sounds like that song by-"

"ALEX!" he interjected in a firm voice. "Don't try to change the topic again! Listen to me!" he shook her shoulder harshly, and then took in deep breaths to calm himself down- the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. "You need to make up your mind Alex. Either you talk to me, or you don't. Pick."

"And then what?" she challenged, her own anger rising with the tension growing between them. "Then you would stop hitting on me and watching me sleep every night?"

"I am not hitting on you!" he spit back. "And you're lucky I just watch you sleep instead of doing things I shouldn't even dream about!"

She gasped, eyes wide. There was no freaking way that Justin just said that! "Justin…. Take off that ring."

"I want an answer Alex!" he yelled, shaking her again, taking out his frustration on her. "Tell me what you want. Tell me!"

She cringed at his rough actions. "Justin…. You're hurting me."

He let go of her and stepped back, shocked to see the tears in her eyes. "Alex…I'm so sorry… I didn't…"

His voice trailed off, followed by deadly silence.

"What do I say Justin?" she sniffled, trying to act strong and hold back the sobs. "Sometimes I think that maybe you'd get better if I don't talk to you, maybe it's easier for you that way…. But you're my brother. I need you. I can't stay away from you so long…"

"Alex..." he whispered feebly.

"How do _you_ think am I supposed to react to the fact that my brother is in love with me?" At that point, the tears finally left her eyes. She got up from her bed, and walked out of her room, slamming her door behind her.

He finally took off the ring, and the fears returned to his body again. What the hell had he just done! Did he just deal with her so harshly? What if she got really hurt?

He turned around and looked at the locked door, dumbfounded, motionless. "Alex…"

* * *

She stood at the balcony, wiping her tears and looking at the sky outside. Even with all the pollution, looking at the sky made her feel calm, peaceful, serene when times were rough, and at that moment, time was as rough as it could be.

The only difference? This time, she couldn't lean on her brother to get through it.

_I need him. I can't live without him._

_I know, but I'm hurting him this way…maybe I should stay away from him._

_I can't. Ugh! What if I too have fee-_

"No!" she yelled, running back to her room. There was no way she was letting that thought haunt her mind again.

* * *

He sank to the floor of his room and buried his head in his hands. He could hear the sound of his mother's cooking from the kitchen, and the usual Max-noises of destruction, but his mind was focused on his own sobs instead.

Justin Russo hated himself.

* * *

The next few weeks passed in complete confusion and misunderstanding. He assumed that she had made up her mind to not talk to him. It hurt, but at least it was a stable condition now, and he could get used to it. Every time they would come face to face, a silly part of him would still hope that she would begin a conversation, that she would look at him at least. Instead, she pretended like he was invisible and simply walked away. His heart sank in disappointment, but he told himself that it was better this way.

She, on the other hand, was having a hard time coping with it. She couldn't share it with anyone, couldn't forget about it either. She didn't understand where she and Justin stood, and whether she should talk to him or not. She figured she needed to talk to him, but how? And then, there was that scary part in her mind that was haunting her, forbidden thoughts and images coming unbidden to her. She tried her best to brush them away, and swore that she would never act on them, but she wasn't sure how long she would be able to hold herself together…

* * *

One morning, he was coming out of the bathroom, fully dressed, while she was going in, dressed in her pajamas.

They passed each other, brushing shoulders, and both froze in their tracks.

_She looks so beautiful and innocent when she wakes up…_

_I hate to say it but he does look good in this dork wear. No! What am I saying! _

_Maybe I should just talk to her?_

_I should just walk away from him before I do something stupid. I have to!_

One. Two. Three… she opened the door in one swift motion, went inside the bathroom and locked the door again.

One. Two. Three…. He turned around, mouth open to speak, and faced the door slamming in his face. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly to hide the pain. Had he really lost Alex?

* * *

"No, Max. Make 'em ups are not so powerful. You do need to learn some spells." Justin reasoned.

"And they are also asking people to buy burgers for twenty dollars!" Max exclaimed.

Justin sighed, rubbing his forehead, glancing at the clock and hating the last 40 minutes here with Max.

"Really? You should buy one." Alex insisted, as she walked into the lair, grabbed Max, shoved him out of the door.

Justin gulped, the fear rising in his mind. What was she going to do? Was she going to talk to him? Yell at him? Slap him? Tell him she hated him?

In all his life, he had never been over-powered by fear like that. It seemed like the fear was coursing through his veins, alongside the drops of adrenaline, making his heart beat rapidly and his breath grow more and more irregular.

Alex took in a deep breath. This no-talking thing wasn't working anymore. "So…" she smiled casually. "I heard you were teaching Max some spell. I thought I'd just come down and watch you suffer. But then I thought that maybe I should just help you out. You owe me one. You can pay by cash or by ice-cream."

He gritted his teeth. This game of ignoring and talking was beginning again, and he was not falling for it, no matter how much he wanted to. He was going to control himself, for the sake of their future. Yup...

"Or you can do my inverse rectangle homework thingy." She offered.

He pursed his lips, trying desperately not to speak, but habit of correcting his sister struck him hard, and the words left his lips. "Inverse circular functions."

Her face lit up with a victorious smile, the one that made him feel lovesick and sick. He immediately looked away. "Okay, you had your fun. Now I am just gonna-" he paused, and sighed sadly. "do your math homework."

She squealed happily. "Thank you Justin."

* * *

And they were back to the talking part of this game again, back to acting normal, back to acting like she didn't know he loved her and he didn't watch her sleep every night.

"So… Justin, have you decided about which college you want to attend?" his father asked.

Justin nodded. "Yeah… I was thinking about NYU. Maybe I will be able to work at the substation during the weekends?"

"That's a great idea!" his mother cooed. "I don't want my baby to go away."

"Umm... mom, I'd still be living in a dorm." He reminded.

"Yeah, I know, sweetie. But at least we can see you more." She smiled at him. "Awww! My little boy grew up so much."

Alex scrunched her face at the sappy scene. "Wow… that's really… _entertaining_ and all, but now, let's talk serious business people. Daddy, you remember how you were saying you could use some money to buy cupcakes?"

"WHAT!" her mother shrieked. "Jerry! What did we say? We need to buy a lamp for the living room!"

"What's the use?" Jerry sighed. "The kids will break it again."

Theresa glared at him. "They weren't the ones who broke it."

"Okay, people, let's focus again, _please_." Alex whined. "Okay, so, daddy, there's this girl in my school who's looking for a place to stay. So I was wondering if we could give Justin's room on rent?"

Jerry's face lit up in enthusiasm. "That's a-" he paused, looking at a glaring Theresa. "-bad idea. We are not giving your brother's room on rent, Alex."

"What! But he wouldn't even need it anymore!" she protested.

Justin narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What is in it for you?"

She shrugged, smiling innocently. "Nothing."

He studied her for a moment, and then smirked. "You are totally planning to make her do your homework when I am not around."

"What! Pssh- nah." She scoffed nervously. "As if I care about homework. That's you, loser."

He cleared his throat. "Justin, please, do my math assignment. I have 10 left. Please, please, please." He mimicked.

She crossed her arms. "Okay, I did not say please!"

"Oh, sure you did, you were all-"

And then their knees bumped under the table, and his mouth went dry. He gulped a mouthful of air uneasily. "I think I am feeling sick. Excuse me." he mumbled, getting up from the table, and rushing to his room, where the guilt would eat him up. He really did need to get away from her…

* * *

_Days come, days go…_

_There comes no change in my life, though._

_Every time I fall pray to this 'ignore-n-talk' game._

_Every time my mind is clouded with guilt and shame…_

_Every time I try to find someone else to blame…_

_Sometimes it feels like we have nothing left to say._

_Sometimes I feel like I want to run away_

_From this little game we are playing with my heart._

_Sometimes I think it'd be easier if we were apart…_

_Every day I hate myself for bowing so low._

_Days come, days go…_

* * *

**Six months after this**

"Alex! This is not right!" her mother complained. "You didn't even tell him goodbye when he went to college!"

"What's your point?" she asked, visibly bored.

"He's your brother! You should wish him on his birthday!" Theresa insisted.

Alex scoffed. "I haven't wished him in like, ten years. Why should I start now?"

"Because, he's in college now, honey. And I know you miss him." Alex tried to open her mouth to protest, but Theresa beat her to it. "I saw you cry when he left. Look…. Just be there in his birthday party! Please."

She looked down at her nails. "I don't know mom…"

"Your father said he wanted to buy you that laptop…."

Her eyes snapped up to her mother immediately. "Deal." She smiled devilishly when she noticed Justin taking orders to a table, and extended her leg forward, making Justin trip.

"ALEX!"

* * *

"Can't I please just go back to my room?" Alex whined.

"Yeah, can't she please go back to her room, mom?" Justin pleaded. "I don't want her to ruin my party."

"Justin, honey, it's okay." Their mother assured. "It's not like she already hasn't set up her pranks."

Alex shook her head sadly. "Actually, I haven't… I wasn't prepared that he'd throw a party at home!" she hissed at him.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I know it was a bad idea. It's never safe to bring my friends near you."

She grinned devilishly. He had no idea what was waiting for him inside his room. (Well, but he probably did have bandages with him.)

* * *

When the party people finally poured in, she was shocked to see that Justin's friends were nothing like she had expected them to be. Sure, the boys were all nerds, but they looked cool. And the girls? She hated to admit it, but those girls were actually quite hot...

"Yeah, right, pssh." She scoffed to herself, watching Justin talk to one of those girls. Something was happening to her. Something swelling inside of her, growing bigger by the minute. It possibly couldn't be…

She shook her head. She just couldn't be jealous. No way. Not at all. Not a bit. Honest.

"Ugh I hate the stupid thoughts." She groaned, sipping a drink in vain hope of calming down. Even with all the people in the party, her eyes were fixed on him. But that had to be because it was his party, right? It was probably because she was waiting to pull a prank on him….. wasn't it?

"Oh no! I forgot your brother's present in my room!" Theresa exclaimed, while carrying sandwiches to the guests. "Alex, honey, can you please get it down for me?"

"Sure." She agreed instantly, hoping that staying away from the party for a while will help clear her mind and get rid of these conflicting thoughts.

"Don't break it. Or steal it. Or damage it in any other way." Her father warned behind her as she climbed up the stairs.

* * *

Once she was upstairs, she went straight into their parents' room, and instantly spotted the gift box. But she sat down on the bed, and let out a sigh. She sat there for who knows how long, just staring at the family photo in her mother's dresser.

_What is wrong with me?_

_Come on! I know what is wrong with me!_

_Yeah, I know. I am talking with my conscience like all those stupid heroines from the cliché movies. Of course that's what's wrong with me!_

_Or maybe I am…_

_NO! I am just… stressed._

_Pfft. Stressed from what? Watching Justin with other girls?_

"NO!" she snapped angrily, cutting off the conflicting voices in her mind. Tears brimmed her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. "Why isn't it working anymore?" she whispered to herself.

"Why isn't what working?" Justin asked from the doorway.

She yelped, startled by him. How long had he been there? How much had he seen? "Freak! Stop scaring me like that!" she snapped at him, standing up and fixing her hair while looking at the mirror.

He entered the room and stood behind her, watching her and himself through the mirror. "Mom sent me upstairs to see what you were destroying… you alright?"

"Yeah. I am fine." She answered, putting on a fake smile.

"It's okay if you don't want to stay at the party. I understand" He assured. "I will just tell mom you were feeling sick."

She thought about it for a moment- it would be a good idea to get some time alone and straighten herself, but something at the back of her mind did not like the idea of not keeping an eye on Justin while he talked with those girls, so she declined. "No thanks… I am fine."

He shrugged, though unconvinced. "So… did you like my friends?" he asked hopefully, with a goofy, smug grin on his face that irritated her to no ends.

She shrugged too. "They are less dorky than you."

He scoffed, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. "Suzanne was a cheerleader in her High School." He boasted.

"So was I." she snapped, sticking out her tongue to him. "Thanks to you."

"Oh, don't mention it." He said in a mock tone of sweetness. "So… I was thinking about asking her out today. What do you say?"

"No! You can't!" the words left her mouth even before she was aware that she was thinking aloud. "I mean… mom and dad are around, and they can be pretty embarrassing."

He nodded. "You're right…I will just ask on Monday then?"

Her heart sank at the idea of Justin asking someone out. By then she was sure that being in denial was not working anymore. Just seeing Justin with someone else had broken down all the barriers she had built around her.

"Come on, we better get down now." He urged, walking towards the door.

"Justin, wait!" she called out, running up to him.

He stopped and turned around, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Huh?"

She looked at him, his hair messy, sweat beads gleaming in his forehead, two buttons of his shirt open, a small silver chain visible through it. She licked her lips, and reached up on her tiptoes.

_He's my brother…_

_But he loves me…and I think I love him too.._

_NO! It's a horrible mistake…_

_But I want him…_

_I've avoided this too long… I can't give up now!_

_But what if he actually starts dating that other girl? What if I lose my Justin?_

_Ugh! I always knew thinking is bad!_

Before she could even think further or he could even react to their close proximity, she pressed her lips to his.

**

* * *

(A/N: Evil cliffhanger XD If you are still awake, review PLEASE? :-s looking forward to your feedback, because this chapter took a LOT of time- 2 weeks of writing and !1 day of editing during exams!- and as you can see, this took a LOT of effort and hard work. Please review!)**

**Off-topic: updated fanvids at my youtube (link is on my profile). See mom, I do use my accounts :P  
**


	6. Ch 5: Time changes

**Chapter 5- time changes **

Panic- that's the very first emotion he felt. This whole thing was so sudden, so unexpected, a surge of panic ran through his body when her lips connected with his. It was then followed by disbelief- he thought that it was surely a dream. He stared at her, wide-eyed, blinked, and was finally convinced that this _was_ real, this _was_ happening. Though it did seem too good to be true, his dream was finally becoming reality. So he relaxed, and drowned himself in the kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, he had a huge grin on his lips, and tears in his eyes. "Oh Alex! I've waited so long for this… I used to dream of this moment all the time, hoping this would actually happen…"

She scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Ugh. Justin. Please. Not the sap part now." She whined, grabbing the gift box and rushing downstairs, "By the way, before you come down, wipe your lips properly. Unless you wanna be caught kissing your sister…"

_Sister…_ the guilt and shame will never go away, will it? (It did, during their make-out session that night, and every time after that.)

* * *

"So… it's my brother's birthday." She chirped at the microphone, standing in the middle of the stage- a little too sweetly, making people notice and give her distrusting looks. "And he's the best brother in the world, really. He knows I will never wish him. He knows I will never give him a gift. But he still hates me."

Her mother glared at her, while the guests laughed, but she shrugged and continued. "BUT this year, I am going to prove that I am not the bad child of the family as some people believe me to be. So…. You can take your wallet back now Justin."

He gasped, wondering when she had stolen it in the first place. She grinned, biting her lip.

"Oh!" He had his light bulb moment. She had stolen the wallet during the kiss!

* * *

He thought dating his sister was going to be the toughest job of his life, but actually, it turned out to be pretty easy. When two siblings who have been fighting throughout their lives start hanging out with each other and peace reigns in the house, their parents are too happy to be suspicious. So, he spent the whole week studying hard and having _fairly_ tamed conversations with her on the phone for long hours at night. During weekends, he would come back and work at the substation, and she would taunt him throughout the day, stopping only at nights when they could be alone and together. The risks were still there, but they both knew it was worth it.

"What are we doing, Justin?" she would ask this question too many times, lost in deep thoughts. Unlike her other questions, this time, he didn't have an answer.

* * *

Things changed a bit when she moved out for college. She refused to introduce Justin as her brother, because "no normal person would ever wanna hang out with the sister of a dork like him". Their parents scolded, threatened, reasoned, but finally gave up- unsuspicious, trusting. That had sent them into a guilt-burdened week, but they made it through- together.

And that, life was pretty smooth. He would sneak into her college now and then, and they would be together, in public, holding hands, talking, laughing, kissing. Sometimes they would be scared- what if someone caught them? But this was too tempting, and anyway, when did Alex Russo not like taking risks? (Whenever it came to _them_).

**

* * *

Year 2014- 6 years before the present**

Time passes fast, people grow up, become mature, responsible, people change. But for Justin and Alex, the change was so meager, it was barely noticeable. There was only this anxiousness in the air, this certain tension, certain sense of discomfort. The more the wizard competition came near, the more the atmosphere started becoming awkward. It was almost as if this was the vibe of a battle.

They were still together, holding hands tighter than ever, as if the other might slip away. Sometimes he wondered how exactly lovers had felt in ancient times if they ever have to battle against each other for the sake of the kingdom. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to lose, just so she wins?

* * *

"I want you to promise me something Justin." She asked.

"Anything…" he whispered, playing with her hair.

"Promise me we'll do it fair and square… promise me you won't go easy on me."

"Alex…" he sighed heavily.

She chuckled. "Oh who am I kidding? I'd love to win without any hard work." They both laughed at that, the uneasiness fading a bit, but then she became serious again. "No… Justin. Please. Promise me?"

"I promise…" he assured. "But you have to promise me that this won't tear us apart… I don't wanna lose you Alex… for anything."

"Nothing will tear us apart, Justin." She whispered, squeezing his hands tightly. They could only wish this was true…

* * *

It was like the exact reverse of the Caribbean Wizard Competition. Max was out of the game (his own words) at the very beginning, as expected. This time, Justin emerged as the winner, with Alex mere seconds away.

"This feels amazing!" he laughed, engulfed by the massive feeling of the warmth and energy spreading through his body. Then he looked down at Alex. "I… I am sorry, Alex."

She shook her head and smiled weakly. "No… it's okay… congratulations, Justin."

* * *

He held her close that night, letting her know that even without magic, she was just as special, just as powerful.

"This feels hollow." She mumbled into his chest. "It's like…" she trailed off, never too good at expressing her feelings with proper words.

"Like blood's not flowing through your body anymore." he completed, rocking her in his arms. "Shh… it's okay. I'm right here, Alex."

* * *

The family was dead silent in the next morning- even Max didn't act all dumb at the breakfast table.

She knew it was up to her to take things back to normal. "So…" she began. "Mom. I was thinking that maybe you can give me some extra money now. I don't have magic anymore. I'm gonna have to pull pranks on Justin manually from now on…"

Max cringed, not wanting to talk about it.

Justin noticed, and felt bad again. "Hey Max?"

"Huh?" Max muttered half-heartedly.

"What would you do if someone gives you a lifetime's supply of burgers and cupcakes?"

Max looked at him, wide-eyed, and attacked him with a sudden hug, breaking down and crying.

He rubbed his little brother's back. "I am sorry Max…"

Max nodded, then shook his head- unsure which he was supposed to do. "You're the best brother ever, Justin… I love you."

The family sighed in relief, relaxing.

"Just so you know", Alex began, stealing food from his plate. "I still hate you like I always did."

* * *

"How long does it take to make a simple potion?" Justin asked impatiently.

"It's not simple!" She snapped, glaring at him deviously. "Why don't you just help me instead of passing comments?"

He scoffed. "You mean I do the work and you sit around lazily?"

She shrugged. "That's how it works, duh."

He rolled his eyes. "Why do you need that potion anyway?"

"None of your business." She spat back rudely, not in the mood to tell him about her prank idea.

He was about to retort, but just then, a bottle burst into the lair through the portal.

"Oh! Wizard mail's here!" Justin exclaimed, excited like a little boy, and got up from the chair to pick the bottle. He found a letter attached to it, tore it open, and read it carefully. As he did, his expression sobered, his smile fading.

Alex gulped nervously. "What's with that face? What does the letter say?" she asked, looking at him expectantly. "Justin?"

* * *

(**A/N: *ducks bricks* don't kill me! I wasn't planning on leaving a cliff-hanger again. But you guys reviewed and I figured I should update. This is all I could manage in this time. Hope you still like it. Please review!)**


	7. Ch 6: Tumbling down

**Chapter 6: tumbling down**

* * *

"It's a letter from Wiztech." He breathed, looking at her with an expressionless face, waiting to see her reaction. "It says that they want me to teach magic in their summer school this year."

"Phew!" she sighed in relief, returning her attention back to the potion, as if it was no big deal. "What's there to look so sad about it, dork?"

He shook his head, like she was standing in neck-high water and still not comprehending the danger of the situation. "If I accept the offer, I will have to go away for a month. We'll be apart…"

"Yeah, but we can still meet." She pointed out.

"Only on weekends." He said, voice filled with regret. "I wanted to spend the whole month with you."

She smiled, happy to hear that he cared so much about them. "Okay, Justin, look." She tried reasoning, because as much as she made his life miserable, she did not want to ruin his dreams. "I don't want to sound like I care about you because I really don't. But I know you always wanted to teach at Wiztech. It's a great opportunity… I think you should go."

"But Alex-"

"-I will be fine." She assured, followed by a quick kiss on his lips.

He let out a long and heavy sigh. He knew it was a lost case arguing with Alex.

* * *

"Sticky notes to self: don't forget sticky notes to self! Ah!" he muttered to himself, rushing to grab the sticky notes.

She rolled her eyes, perfectly annoyed with his antics. "Did you pack your dolls? They'll feel lonely without you."

"ACTION FIGURES!" he yelled. "And don't even touch them when I am gone." He warned in a serious tone.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and scoffed. "Like I'm scared of you. Pfft…"

He sighed, suddenly sitting down beside her, abandoning his packing, and took her hand in his. "I'm going to miss you Alex."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "I will miss you too, Justin. But you'll see, time will just fly away…"

* * *

Time did fly away. When you're living your dream, it always does. They had both been waiting for the week to end, and it did end soon. The moment they had been waiting for all week finally occurred- he came home for the weekend.

"How's Wiztech?" his mother asked.

"Justin, please take Max with you." Alex pleaded. "He's started with the accents again."

"Did you bring me any cupcakes?" his father asked.

"Hey, I want cupcakes too!" Max added.

"Guys!" Justin held his hands up in the air. "It's been a long week. I'm tired now… I think I'll go to my room and rest. Later." He mumbled, yawning, rubbing his eyes, and hit the bed.

Alex bit her lip. He didn't even look or nod at her! What something wrong? Nah. He probably didn't want to act weird around the family. Shrugging off the tiny bit of disappointment, she went back to her room.

She slumped down on her bed, feeling happy. She had come a long way from the denial and the guilt, it was really hard for her, and it made her realize even more how much she needed Justin by her side- forever and always.

* * *

"Coffee?" she asked, joining him in the balcony.

"Aww, thanks, honey." He cooed, planting a small kiss on her forehead.

She scrunched up her nose in disgust, but couldn't disguise the smile on her lips. "So… how's Wiztech?"

"Oh, it's great." Justin began speaking in an animated way. "You wouldn't believe how much it has changed! The building actually has proper sign boards now. Plus, all students have new robes and high-tech A789-plus wands. It's such a pleasure teaching there! It's amazing, awesome, fantastic-"

"-Yeah I know you have a lot of vocabulary." She cut him off impatiently.

He laughed. "_Lot of vocabulary?"_

"Wanna go out somewhere tonight?" she asked, changing the topic.

He looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry Alex. I'm just too tired this weekend… I need to sleep."

She shrugged. "Sure."

He looked at her suspiciously, because hello, when did Alex Russo ever give in without a fight? Brushing off his fears, he took a sip of his coffee.

"I will join you." She chirped sweetly.

He chocked on his coffee in surprise and panic, spitting it out. "No! You can't! What about mom and dad?"

She grinned deviously. "They won't be suspicious if I bring in Max with me too… and Max's too dumb to figure out that his siblings are fooling around in the same room."

He blushed the brightest shade of red. "Watch your language, your lady." He reprimanded in a playful tone.

* * *

Fooling around with Max in the room was actually fun. At first, Alex wrapped her legs around Max and pulled him into a bear hug. Max freaked out to see Alex act in such a loving way, and quickly retreated back from her. She then wrapped her legs around Justin and hugged him tight.

"Careful Justin." Max warned. "I think she's got something in her mind."

With the way his body was reacting, he sure knew what she had in mind.

"Shut up Max!" she mumbled, kicking him with her foot. Max remained silent, terrified of Alex, got distracted by thoughts of babies with burgers and fell asleep soon.

"Max." she called softly, just to be sure. But the snoring showed he was actually asleep.

And then she began kissing Justin.

"Alex!" he hissed in panic. "Max will wake up!"

"He'll, if you keep on being a screaming dork!" She paused for a moment. "Hmm… that's a good nickname. We'd stick to that…. Justin, will you just relax? Come on! This is fun!"

He hated to say it (and he never would), but as much as it was risky, dangerous and kind of sort of guilty-disgusting, it _was_ pretty thrilling and fun.

* * *

That weekend was probably the happiest weekend she ever had. So she spent the whole week again just waiting for the weekend to arrive. Friday finally came after days that were centuries long (Justin's words), and she started acting happy- quite visibly.

Her phone ringed, she saw Justin's wand id, and answered it instantly. "Hey."

"Hey." He laughed nervously. "Wassup?"

The smile tugging at her lips faded. Whenever Justin used that tone, it usually meant he was trying to tell her something she won't like. "What is it, Justin?" she asked with trepidation.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Well…Wiztech is having these parties in the weekend-"

"No way, dude!" she interrupted him with a loud gasp. "I wish we had those when we used to study there!"

"-And I won't be able to come home." He completed, followed by silence. "Alex?"

"Yeah, I really miss your dork face and can't live without you. _Please_!" she scoffed.

He sighed sadly. "I miss you too, Alex."

* * *

Had she known that this was going to be an every-weekend thing, she definitely wouldn't have sent him to Wiztech. To top it off, she couldn't join him there either because of the remaining of her ten years ban. (It's not her fault that she accidentally set fire to Wiztech!) To say the least: Alex Russo was miserable. She was lonely, sometimes scared, sometimes upset, and she had to keep up the act like nothing was wrong, like she wasn't breaking down on the inside.

The thing that hurt the most was whenever they talked, he always seemed happy, like he was having fun, enjoying himself. She did want him to be happy, but the fact that he didn't miss her like she missed him hurt badly. And then, sometimes there would be a hint of guilt in his voice, and that scared her. What if Justin was regretting this? What if he had met someone better?

Worst thing? She couldn't say or do a damn thing about this.

* * *

"So…." He trailed, taking his time to compose himself and speak. "Professor Crumbs offered me to become a full time teacher at Wiztech. I'm considering the offer…"

Her heart sank instantly. This time, she decided to be honest. Since when did Alex Russo become selfless? "Justin… we won't be able to see each other… I don't want that."

He laughed, ruffling her hair tenderly. "Don't worry about it, Alex, we will. I promise."

She believed him- he kept his promises all the time- at least he used to. This distance was sometimes making her feel like her Justin was slipping away from her, like he was been carried away by the tides, so far away that would never be able to swim and reach him. On the other hand, her love for him was just growing without limits. "Fine…. Go live your dream."

* * *

He was changing- she could clearly see it. Magical world was transforming him into entirely someone else. The fame and recognition he got there was contaminating his head. He was no longer the brother she grew up with, the boy she fell in love with. He was like one of those apathetic boyfriends now- making promises, breaking them, and then lying, making excuses and fake promises again.

She never thought that Justin- the perfect guy with the perfect morals- could become something like this. What surprised her most was that she never talked to him about this, never accused him, never fought with him. When did she become so cool, collected- tamed? It wasn't the calm before the storm, was it?

* * *

"I can't believe my hija is graduating from college!" Theresa cooed, hugging Alex tightly. "We never thought you would graduate high school in the first place!"

"Neither did I." she chuckled, struggling and whining to get out of her grasp. "Mom, please, don't hug me!"

Actually, suddenly having all the attention shifted to her was somewhat helping soothe her pain. Well, a bit at least. This was the moment she'd get rid of the social evil called studying. She was definitely going to enjoy it.

* * *

"You're coming for my graduation this weekend, right?" she asked him on the phone the night before.

"Of course, sweetie." He promised. "I wouldn't miss it for a thing."

She fell asleep happily that night, with a dreamy smile on her face.

* * *

There was one word for her graduation day: Dream. If she started giving the details, she would never be able to stop talking.

When the ceremony was over and she had greeted all her friends, hugging them for once in her life and telling them how she'd miss them, she ran up to her family excitedly.

"Congratulations!" they all greeted proudly, except the one missing person.

"Where's Justin?" she asked, looking around in super excitement. "I've got some great news."

Theresa patted her shoulder uneasily. "We're… we're sorry, Alex. Your brother didn't come…"

"He didn't?" she asked, more shocked than hurt to hear this. "Oh." Her voice fell, her eyes falling to her toes, fighting to keep the tears away.

"No…" she shook her head in disbelief. Justin couldn't have become so uncaring!

There are moments in everyone's lives when they feel that their whole world is being poured in a test tube and shaken till it moulds into a different colored material. This was that moment for Alex. What was happening to her life? What was happening to her Justin?

* * *

"Hey." He called late that night, and she wondered why she even answered the call. Perhaps she wanted to hear what he had to say? Perhaps she wanted everything to be better again? "How was your day?"

"What do you think?" she snapped furiously.

"Um…. Did I miss something?" he asked, sounding unsure and confused.

She gasped. "You forgot about my graduation?"

He smacked his head, the noise audible even through the phone. "That was today?"

She gasped again. "I _cannot believe_ you didn't even _remember_ the date! You're changing, Justin!" she fumed, hanging up on him.

She finally sank to her bed, finally letting herself howl in defeat. With the way Justin was acting, she was starting to think that maybe they wouldn't last. Was she strong enough to do this alone?

* * *

She was surprised to see that there were no miss calls that night. Justin didn't even try to call her again!

Wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes, she quickly turned around, and noticed that there were hundreds of bouquets lying all around her room. The aroma of sweet smelling roses filled her nose, and she instantly forgot the sad feeling. She picked up one bouquet, and read the note attached to it.

"_Sorry! :( plz dont b mad at m!"_

She grinned to herself, finally feeling like she was the queen of the world. There was a tiny feeling of hope still flickering in her mind, and she decided to ignite it to its full extent. Yup. They were going to make it, and she was going to make sure they did.

Finishing her morning routine, she quickly got dressed and headed to Wiztech, hoping she could sneak in without getting sent to the Wizard Prison.

* * *

"Excuse me." she grabbed a random student walking by. "I am looking for Justin Russo…?"

The student gave her instructions to go to a certain room (GPS should work in old buildings, really) and she headed that way.

Deciding to surprise Justin with her visit, she swung the door open, not even knocking.

And there he was!

…_Kissing a girl!_

She shook her head. _No! No! No! _This couldn't be happening! This couldn't be real! It had to be a dream! Those golden locks, that pale skin, that vanilla smell….. _JULIET?_

A gasp escaped her lips. Justin broke apart, turned around, saw her, and nearly screamed in panic. "Alex! What are you doing here? I…. it's not what it looks like. I can explain. I was-"

She didn't even bother for the explanation. She turned on her heels and left quickly, fuming all the while. The final nail to the coffin had been struck.

* * *

She locked herself in her room for the rest of the week, neither answering his calls, nor talking properly to her parents.

At first, she felt like her life was over; like there was nothing else she could do and nothing else that nothing else she wanted to do. The person she trusted most broke her trust. The person who was supposed to protect her broke her heart. What else could she expect from her life?

She spent the first two days in a severe state of depression, just crying and crying. It was miraculous that she did not decide to take her life.

However, she slowly started getting back her strength. Sure, she was still broken, and it still hurt like needles were flowing through her veins, but she had an urge to pull herself back together again. There was no way she was going to let him break her like this.

* * *

He came home during the weekend.

"Get out of my room!" she yelled, as soon as he entered it.

"Alex, we need to talk."

"Oh, so it took you so long so care about me?" she screamed. "I don't want to hear anything, Justin! There's nothing more left to talk about."

He grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him. "Look…. Juliet came back…. And I was… so happy. I mean, she's my first love… you know how first love is…. She told me she wanted us to be together again… I couldn't help myself… I couldn't tell her I had moved on. I was… stuck between you two Alex. I didn't know what to do… I didn't want to hurt either of you."

She listened impatiently, wondering when exactly a girl he knew and loved for around a year became more important to him that his own little sister, her mind drifting off to far away memories of their childhood, memories of them growing up together. There was no one in her life who was ever more important to her than Justin. If there was one thing she was always sure of, it was this.

"You cheated on me." she accused coldly.

"Alex… I was confused, please try to understand." He begged. "I didn't know what to do… You know I love you."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than she slapped him. Hard. Twice. Alex Russo was definitely not the person to just tolerate crap like this. She had given him enough chances already. "Stop saying that!" she yelled, finally bursting with the anger and complains she had been holding back for months. "Please! Don't say that! It's like a broken tape!" she ran her hands through her hair, frustrated with everything. "You… go on and on about doing the right thing…. And you! You!" she choked on the words, glaring daggers at him. "Now I can see that it's all been a lie Justin! You never loved me!"

"Alex, please!" he pleaded, tried to reach out to her, but she slapped his hand away. "Please, Alex, believe me. I love you."

And she slapped him again. Harder. A breeze of silence swept through the room, echoing the unspoken words between them. They both knew they were tumbling down.

He clutched his cheek, looking down in shame, while she continued packing her things. "So… you bought your own apartment?" he asked in a whisper.

"None of your business!" she spat angrily.

"It is my business." He spat back. "I thought that we could…. get our own apartment."

She closed her eyes tightly, letting her stars explode behind her heavy eyelids. As lucrative as his words seemed, there was no game she was going inside this burning maze again.

"I am moving to Florida." She told him bluntly, not even pausing to see the shock and hurt on his face. "I have been offered a job by a famous fashion magazine. I was thinking about turning them down, but now I think you're not worth it, Justin."

He gasped, looking at her fearfully. "But… we won't be able to see each other anymore!"

She let out a sarcastic laugh. "Do we see each other now, Justin? Do you care to see me nowadays? Are you even the same person now?" tears escaped her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. There was no way that she was going to be vulnerable. Maybe this was breaking her heart, making this was tearing her apart, but that was _exactly_ what Justin had done to her. He'd destroyed all the dreams she had built for them. There was no way she was going to forgive him. And if she was going to kick him out of her life like he deserved, she was going to do it without crying.

"Alex-"

She opened her hardwood door with a loud bang, gesturing for him to leave. "Goodbye Justin."

"Alex…"

She looked straight into his eyes, stayed strong, and fought back the tears. There was no way she was breaking down at this stage. "Bye Justin."

* * *

**(A/N: like the angst? Review and let me know please! More reviews= faster update. This was a long chapter and I worked hard, so frankly, I'm expecting feedbacks.)**

**Note: I have no idea if you guys have graduation ceremonies in colleges. So sorry if I got that wrong! :) **


	8. Ch 7: Fresh start

**Chapter 7: fresh start?**

He settled at Wiztech permanently, never returning home anymore. Their parents had suspected that something was wrong between the two of them, but they brushed the questions away and ran far away.

His room was small, sporting all his trophies and his action figures, with his clothes and robes in a small closet, and his books in the bigger one. He kept the room minimal, changed the color of his curtains to white, and started wearing spectacles, sporting a light stubble on his chin.

He could change his physical appearance. But his mind was still with her- there was not a thing he could change about his pain…

He didn't get it- any of it. Sometimes he wondered why the hell he fell in love with her after 17 freaking years of his life. Wouldn't it have been better if they just stayed in their platonic relationship instead of going downhill like this? And why wouldn't she even let him speak if she really loved him? Didn't his feelings have any value anymore?

He knew he had messed up big time and he couldn't fix it this time. He had given up trying to make her understand, yet somewhere deep inside his heart, in some secret corner, there was still a tinge of hope left, that someday everything would be alright, someday they'd be together again…

He knew he'd love her forever, which meant he'd probably have to spend his life all alone, but the mere sense of belonging to her somehow gave him the strength. Sighing, he turned the pages of his magical journal and started writing.

"_Dear Alex…_

_I know I can't do this in person, but people say there exists some soul to soul connection, and if it's true, I hope you can hear me…It's so strange, how time changes relationships. I know you'd laugh at me for this, but I always liked a popular dialogue in movies- 'all relationships do not have a name'. I guess no one knows that better than us, huh? It's so strange how we suddenly fell in love, stayed in love, and then became foes. I know you hate me now, but you're just misunderstanding me. Please trust me. Close your eyes and ask yourself- do you think I would hurt you? You've got it wrong, I never cheated on you... And you don't hate me either. I know you don't. You say that you hate me, but your eyes say something else… We have a deep bond, and I can feel that you miss me as well. And if we are both true from our hearts, who the heck is going to stop us from being together? We're the victim of circumstances, Alex. It's circumstances that has drifted us apart and I am sure that our destiny will bring us together again, someday…" _

* * *

Florida. The sunshine state… It was a really nice place, more beautiful than she had imagined it to be, more amazing than it looked in the pictures and movies. She had bought a small house on the beach, with just one bed-room, a living room and dining space, kitchen, and one bathroom, but that just made maintenance easier, and she could be as lazy as she wanted to be. During her free time, she sat on her balcony and just stared at the calm, blue sea in front of her. Which was a bad idea; because it stirred memories of a certain vacation with a certain someone that she wanted to forget _so_ bad.

She wasn't the greatest sun-worshipper around, and the Florida heat and humidity was annoying her so much that she had abandoned all her beloved colorful clothes and switched to simple, light-colored, cotton clothes. She actually liked the change- it made her feel like she was different person, like she wasn't Alex. (Like she wasn't in love with _him._)

And then, there was the risk of lighting and hurricanes. She had just scoffed and brushed it off, not paying any attention to her parents' concerned advice. But her neighbors gave her serious warnings, and she finally sat down to make a list of things she'd need in case they were ever asked to evacuate. Making lists was just not her thing, and it just made her think of that one person she did not want to think about…

"Gosh! All my thoughts just lead to him. Ugh!" she groaned, mumbling to herself. She didn't get it- any of it. He loved Juliet, yet, why? Why did she still love him? Why did her heart still long to be his? Why did she want to lose all her friends and family for someone she would never have? Why was life always making things difficult for them, tearing them apart, bringing them closer, and then separating them again? Why? Why? WHY?

* * *

**3 years, 2 months before the present**

Alex sighed, turning off the television and drooping on the couch, her head titled back, eyes closed. She never liked thunderstorms, and being alone in a new home in a new state on a new moon night wasn't making it any better. She hugged her knees closer to her chest, rested her head on top of them, and closed her eyes. Back in her teenage days, she used to hop around her house during storms, tormenting everyone and scaring Justin to death…. Justin… Justin…

"Justin…" she whispered in a shaky voice, her words almost inaudible and muffled by the harsh sound of raindrops. She bit her lips, allowing the tears to form on the corner of her eyes. Since she was alone, there was no reason for pretending. She could just cry it out and scream his name in pain. She sobbed, her body shaking with it. "Justin…."

"_Time is going by, so much faster than I; I'm starting to regret not spending all of it with you…"_

Her phone ringed with the Nickel back song, and she answered it without even looking at the screen, assuming it was her parents. "Hello?" she mumbled half-heartedly.

"Alex…Hey… it's me…. Justin…."

Her heart did a leap in her chest, her breath hitched, and she jumped up in her couch, feeling goose bumps rise on her arms. She was too shocked to even react. Justin had called her up after three years? Was this actually happening or was she dreaming again? "J-Justin?"

"Hey." He began nervously. "Look, I know you didn't want to talk to me anymore, and I'm sorry I called, but I…" he paused, trying to phrase his words properly, and waiting to see her reaction, to see if she hanged up or yelled at him.

"Yeah?" she asked, curious.

He took in a deep breath. "I was feeling… _weird._ Like… like you were in trouble or pain… it's kind of hard to explain it… it's that feeling you get in your heart when you know something is wrong, you know?"

"Yeah…" was all she could say, as she wondered how in the world Justin understood she was feeling lonely- Was their bond still _this_ strong?

"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously. "I mean, I know it sounds silly but…"

"There's a storm on." She acknowledged suddenly, and paused, wondering what made her answer his question. Perhaps it was the concern laced in his voice? The honesty in his words? "I'm just watching out for Hurricane alert."

"Oh! Be careful. Do you have all the things you may need?" he asked in a concerned and worried voice. "Do you need something? I'm sure I can drop by some things from Wiztech."

_Wiztech._

The rewind button on her memories was hit by that word, and the hourglass was turned upside down. A surge of anger shot through her body as she heard that scornful word and was reminded of all the pain and betrayal that she had to endure. Her nostrils flared, eyes glazed with tears, hands tightened around the cell phone, almost trying to grind it into pieces. Unsure what to do or say, she simply hung up on him.

"Alex?... Alex?..." he asked impatiently on the other end. "Alex, are you okay?" he panicked, heart beating rapidly in his adrenalin rush, convinced that something horrible has happened and cut off their communication, and dreading the thoughts running through his mind.

"Oh Alex…" he whispered, blinking back his tears- this wasn't the time to break down. Grabbing his wand and his portal key, he quickly went on his way.

* * *

Alex stared at the television screen blankly, not paying any attention to it at all, the thunder sounds not making her cringe anymore- Justin's words echoing through her ears was the only thing she could hear.

"_I was feeling… weird. Like… like you were in trouble or pain… it's kind of hard to explain it… it's that feeling you get in your heart when you know something is wrong, you know?"_

Did he still have feelings for her? But that wasn't possible! He was with Juliet.

Alex groaned at the name, throwing the pillow she was clutching to the floor.

"Alex!" she jumped, startled to hear Justin's voice from behind her, and turned around to see him standing there. There was some sparkle of magic in his eyes, something that seemed to hypnotize her and hold her gaze. She had to force herself to look away. At that moment, with Justin in the same room as her, her apartment seemed smaller and hotter than ever, tension hanging in the air between them. She felt so empty, yet so… happy? Was she happy to see him again?

"How did you find where I was? What are you doing here?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips in a defensive gesture. Her eyes were fixed on his face, and a volt of electricity ran through her spine. Standing in front of her, just a few feet away from her, was the person she knew better than herself. He looked so grown, so changed, so different, yet, there was that teenage boy feeling as he fidgeted with his fingers fretfully. Something started tugging at her heart strings. Was she about to break down?

He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "I'm sorry… I… I was just worried that something happened to you, okay?"

"Why do you even care about me?" she yelled, shaking her head, unable to understand his behavior." Why do you still care about me, Justin?"

"Because I love you…." He whispered, voice starting to get emotional. "I love you, Alex. I-"

"-No, you don't!" she yelled, cutting him off. "You are dating Juliet!"

"I broke up with her the day you broke off with me." he stated.

She eyed him suspiciously, not believing him. "Why?" she asked incredulously, as she took two steps closer to him. It was like her legs were being drawn to him, as was her entire being. As cliché as it may sound, she felt like he was a magnet, pulling her iron-strong heart towards himself.

"Because you're the one for me." he pleaded, looking at her, pleading with his eyes. He rubbed his forehead, and eyes. "Look, I know you don't wanna talk about this, and I didn't come here to brother you, I swear… but we do need to-"

"-Why did you cheat on me then?" she demanded, cutting him off again.

He stuttered at the sudden arrow she shot in his direction, and stumbled back. "I… I wasn't cheating… I was just…. Confused…._Scared._" He admitted, feeling like a weight was being lifted off his shoulders after years. They never talked properly when they broke off, and he hadn't even got a chance to explain himself. "It's like… I was feeling guilty because I was violating you… I didn't want to hurt you Alex. You're my little sister…. what we had-_have _is wrong, no matter how right it felt... and Juliet was so happy… I couldn't break her heart…. I was stuck. I didn't know what to do. Honest."

She stared at him, taking it all in, tears welling up in her eyes as she was caught off-guard. "And now? Are you confused now, Justin? What do you wanna do now?"

Justin thought for a moment, and moved closer to her. "Do you want to give me another try? Please? Please, Alex?" he pleaded, taking her hand in his with much hesitation, but it was enough to make her fly on clouds.

She shook her head, trying to stop herself from saying yes. "Why should I?" she asked, noticing how close they were at that moment, and how it stirred the old emotions and tingles. She always knew she was never able to move on- she just never acknowledged it. But right at that moment, looking at his eyes, the denial wall was knocked down with one sudden blow, and she knew she was still as much in love with him as she used to be. Yes, she still loved him. He wrapped his arms around her, staring at her intensely. Being in his arms after so many years, she felt safe, protected…. _loved. _Gosh, she had missed this feeling! She had tried so hard to stay away from him, tried so hard to hate him, but he just stood in front of her and it was all useless! It was useless. She didn't want to fight this feeling anymore, no.

Her eyes drifted shut slowly, as he slowly leant down towards her face, but as soon as their lips touched, something sparked and something bolted, and their hands were all over each other, their movements faster than a hurricane. The feeling was just the same as it used to be when they were teens- only more intense- much more intense.

She knew she wanted him, and Alex gets what she wants. So she was going to cross that one line that night, make sure that she was his, and that he wasn't going to leave her ever again. She knew that what she had today might not be there tomorrow, so she was going to listen to her heart as usual and live in the moment.

No thinking about consequences. No backing out now. No more lying. No more pretending. No more missing each other.. No more staying alone… she was going to give their relationship a fresh start.

* * *

***My knowledge about Florida is from research in websites. So forgive me if I went wrong there.**

**(A/N: did you like this chapter? In the next chapter, you'll finally know what happened to Justin. So please review and send me feedbacks! Pretty please! Reviewing doesn't kill anyone, I promise :P) **


	9. Ch 8: It's over

**Chapter 8: it's over**

* * *

She woke up in the morning, still wrapped in his strong arms, pressed against his body. The storm had cleared away, giving way to the sunny sky of Florida. Leaning her head against his chest, she let out a soft sigh of relief. She had tried so hard for so long to stay away from him. Every time something went wrong, every time she broke down, she just wanted to reach out for her phone, call him and ask him to fix her messes. She kept telling herself that she was stronger than that, kept reminding herself that should could take care of herself, she didn't need him. And now it was proved that she was wrong- and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Morning." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

She gasped, looking up at him in surprise. "You're awake? Didn't you sleep?"

He shrugged, smiling. He hadn't slept better in the last few years, but he woke up early when he inhaled the sweet scent of her silky hair falling on his face. Staying awake and watching her sleep peacefully was so much better!

She smiled back at him, nodding in silent understanding. She had finally figured out what she wanted, and now there was no way she was letting it go away again.

"I need to get back to Wiztech." He said sadly, sitting up and pulling back the covers. His face turned resolute after that, his eyes gleaming with determination. "I'm going to resign."

She looked at him incredulously, shocked beyond words at this sudden unexpected decision. "Why are you going to resign?"

His eyes softened, a smile tugging at his lips, bordering on a bright grin. "Because I want to stay with you… Plus, that's the place that started all this trouble. Better cut off the problem from the root."

She blinked, unsure if she was capable of forming words and speaking at that moment. He was giving up everything to be with her. This was not what she wanted, but maybe it was better this way. She wrapped him into a hug, wordlessly letting him know that she supported his decision.

They were together. Alongside each other. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

**3 years, 7 days before the present **

"Dad's fine now. I think I can come back home in 7 more days." He assured on the phone from his Russo home at Waverly Place.

"Justin…I need to tell you something…" she trailed off on the phone, fidgeting with their photo frame in her hands. Sometimes she wondered why happiness never lasted in their lives. Maybe it was their punishment for falling in love with each other?

"Yeah?" he started feeling uneasy at the tone of her voice, the uncertainty in her words, the breathy pauses between her words. Was everything alright?

She took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and stop freaking out about his reaction. This was important, and he had every right to know. "I'mpregnant." She blurted out in one breath.

"What?" he jumped up in surprise. Suddenly his life was taking a turn to become a bad teenage movie. They had let their guards down, and now the unthinkable had happened. "Well…" he breathed, trying to recompose himself. He had made a mistake, he had screwed up, but now he was going to take responsibility for this. "That's not a… bad thing. I mean, it's our child…"

"Justin!" she snapped, furious. "Don't you understand the risk and danger?"

"Yes I do!" he snapped back. "But what else can we do?"

She inhaled sharply, pursing her lips tightly to fight back the lump rising in her throat. "I am getting an abortion!"

"What!" he jumped up again, unable to believe his ears. "Alex! You can't kill off our child!" he yelled, his voice threatening, eyes shining with livid tears.

"Yes, I Can!" she yelled back stubbornly. "And I will!" before he could argue any more, she hung up.

* * *

He sank to the chair, wiping sweat from his forehead, drinking water, and burying his face in his hands, letting the helpless tears flow. She had taken her decision, without even consulting him? How could she be so heartless? How could she think about killing off her own child?

He trembled at the thought, determined to change it and save his child, no matter what it took. He sat down with his magic note pad, ready to write down a letter and magic it to her, not in the mood to deal with her on the phone or in person.

"_This is not right Alex. This is totally unfair. You took the decision without even asking me! Why did you do this? Look at what you did! You searched for every single emotion in every corner of my heart, found them, and killed them all, brutally, ruthlessly. Like the massive holocaust… I can't feel anything anymore, Alex. Nothing at all…You can't do this! You can't! Please!"_

* * *

**3 years before the present**

He had sent the letter to her, and had been waiting for her answer rather anxiously. He packed his bags, ready to go home, talk to her face to face and convince her not to make this horrible mistake that they'd both regret all their lives. Two wrongs don't make a right, after all.

She finally called on the day he was supposed to leave for home.

"What did you decide?" he asked as soon as he answered the call.

She sniffled, wiping away her tears. "Justin, I'm sorry…"

"Shhh…." He tried to comfort her. "It's alright. I'm with you. We'll make it, I promise."

"Justin…" she shook her head vigorously, sobbing. "I already did it… I'm sorry… please don't hate me!... Justin? Justin?"

…

…

The world around him did a whirl. **What** did she just say? Did she just tell him she had **killed** their unborn child? His mind filled with regret and guilt, painting images of what could have been- a happy life with his child and his love- and what it would be instead.

_I couldn't save my child…_

_It's over…_

_I'm useless…_

_She killed it…_

_She destroyed it…_

_It's over…_

_It's over…_

_It's over…._

His heart throbbed in his chest, twisting and churning in pain and defeat. He tried to cry, but tears didn't come to his eyes. He tried to scream, but his lips wouldn't part. He tried to move, but his legs wouldn't obey. The cell phone fell from his grasp, his hands dropping limp by his side. His eyes drifted shut, his world fading into complete darkness.

And that is how he evaporated into his lifeless, emotionless, numb state.

**

* * *

(A/N: sorry it took so long. Send me your thoughts and reviews. Love you. Ready for the mystery to begin?)**


	10. Ch 9: Reunion

**Chapter 9: reunion**

**End of flashback- Back to present… **

* * *

She bit her lip, holding back the tears that she had been holding back forever, holding her chin and shoulders up in a show of confidence, and walked out of the car, into her house, trying to look like she wasn't burning with guilt, like she wasn't breaking down on the inside.

The house was still the same as it used to be when he lived with her, she couldn't bring herself to change a single thing. She just shifted to the guest room, because sleeping alone in her own room was not possible anymore. The house seemed empty, broken, gloomy, brooding all the time, much like it's owner, who put on a smile only when she was with someone or at work. Happiness had vanished from her life the day he did, and there was very slim chance of it ever coming back.

Her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. "Yes, mom?" she asked, sounding exhausted. It had been a long day, and the memories just made it more tiring.

"Are you home yet?" Her mother asked nervously.

"Yeah… what is it?" she asked bluntly, cutting to the chase. Her patience had reached new points of nadir.

Her mother took in a deep breath. "Alex… we are visiting you next week."

"What about Justin?" she asked, confused.

"We… meaning me, your dad, and your brother, honey."

"What!" Alex exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "But why?"

"Because… because we think that maybe there's a better chance of recovery for him if he stays at his then home." Her mother reasoned. "Please don't say no, Alex. This could be good for your brother."

She sat back down in the chair, putting one end of her sunglasses into the corner of her mouth and thinking. It had been three years since she had last seen him, and she missed him too much to even try to pretend that she didn't. But was she strong enough to face Justin again? After what she did- after what happened to him? But if it meant he had a chance of being normal again, shouldn't she take the risk? "Fine. You're welcome to stay at my house."

They exchanged greetings and quickly hung up. And that's when the fears hit her. What if her family found out her secret? What if Justin found out her secret?

Shaking her head, she quickly grabbed her cell phone and got out of her house. There was no way she was going to let her secret out. "Meet me in 15…"

* * *

Reunions are supposed to be emotional, cliché, all-consuming, teary, full of hugs. Their reunion was supposed to be volatile- him shouting at her for making the biggest mistake of her life, her yelling back, fights, silent treatment, crying, make-up, and then happily ever after.

Their reunion was numb.

He sat still in his wheelchair, hair covering his gray eyes, eyes downcast on the floor; hands limp on the arms of the chair, face blank like a statue, as if he hadn't even seen him- she wasn't sure that he did.

She couldn't look at him, couldn't bear to see him so broken, so lifeless. Deep in her mind, she had hoped that when they'd meet, he would show some sort of reaction- anything, but that hope was shattered by the dead look in his eyes. She looked away, sniffling. That image of Justin was hurting her more than any of his words would ever have. What had she done to her Justin?

"Take him to his room." She whispered softly to her mother, unable to meet her gaze. "Your rooms are ready."

Her mother narrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Aren't you coming?"

"I'll join you later." She assured, face snapping up again. "I have got some work to do right now… I gotta go."

* * *

"Alex, relax." A voice trailed from the dark room where Alex was seated, fidgeting and panicking. "He is never going to find out anything. I mean, come on! He's in a wheel-chair. It's not like he's gonna run around the house trying to find out your secret! He doesn't even know you have a secret!"

She looked down at the ground, frowning. "He may recover someday, you know. And then what?"

The mysterious man let out a chuckle. "Not to be rude or something, but he hasn't recovered a bit in three years. What makes you think he'll recover now?"

Alex looked up at the man, her eyes softening and gleaming with emotions. "I want him to recover…" Biting her lips, she took in a deep breath. "I still love him." she whispered quietly.

"I know…" The man crossed the distance to her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and sighed. "Relax Alex; everything is going to be alright. Just act normal around your family, okay?"

She glared at him. "How can I act normal when I have to-"

"-I am with you." He cut her off, squeezing her shoulders. "We'll make it. Just listen to me, okay? Here's what you do…"

* * *

"Hi mom, hi dad." She greeted, taking her seat at the dining table. "Sorry I'm late."

"Where were you?" her father asked curiously. "We were worried."

She looked up Justin. He hadn't moved a bit, hadn't shown any sign of concern or anger at her behavior. Sighing, she gave her father an apologetic smile. "Just some work for the magazine. You know how hard it is to keep track of the latest fashion trends."

Her mother nodded, not suspicious at all, and started serving food in everyone's plates, getting ready to feed Justin.

Her heart hurt at the sight of his helplessness, but she had to be brave. She remembered everything she was advised to do earlier. She put on her best teasing smile, and looked up at Justin, her brown eyes twinkling with mischief. "So… mom still feeds you like a baby?"

No response came. Not that she was expecting anything, but it still hurt. Every time she teased him, he always came up with something to shoot back at her. That was her definition of Justin. "Can't think of a retort?" she asked, still grinning, even when her heart was breaking.

Her mother patted her hand comfortingly. "Thanks for trying, honey."

She shook her head, fighting back the tears filling up her eyes. "You must be tired… let me feed him."

Her mother looked at her in confusion, but nodded, and handed her Justin's plate without any question or protest.

"Vegetables. Ew, Justin." She crunched up her nose in disgust, shoving the spoon into his mouth. Any other moment, she would have found a situation like this- where she's in control of Justin- amusing. But this time, it was nothing but scary- completely scary. "Are you still trying to be a goat?" she shoved another spoonful into his mouth, and took a sniff of him. "Hmm, I think it's working." She chuckled to herself, and continued feeding him, teasing him throughout the meal. He never looked up, never glared at her, never teased back- never showed any hint of any emotion or any movement.

When the meal was over, she retreated to her room in defeat. "I'm not hungry…"

* * *

"Alex, stop crying." The voice on the phone tried to console. "You didn't expect him to respond in the first attempt, did you?"

She shook her head, still crying. "I hate seeing him like this!"

"I know, how it feels." The voice assured. "But if you want your Justin back, I think you should keep trying."

She nodded, sniffling. "I will…"

"See you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah, bye…"

* * *

She took a quick shower, trying to ease away the day's stress and tensions. While walking back to her room, she peeked inside Justin's. He was lying still on his bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling. Gathering her courage, she walked inside, closing the door behind her.

"Justin…" she whispered to the air, kneeling down on the floor in front of him, her head bowing down automatically. Right in front of her was the man she loved, and the man who loved her, looking older than ever, more worn out than he ever did before, like his life was slowly being sucked out of him. Like every time in her life, she had screwed up everything. Maybe she could fix it? Maybe he could hear her speak? "Justin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do any of this… please don't be mad at me. I know I made a huge mistake, _but you love me anyway…_We can fix it, together. _It's you and I_… I can't see you like this! It's killing me… I'm all alone without you. And I feel so bad when I see you like this… I can't take this!" she took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Please get well soon. Please come back to me. _Please don't leave me_…" She pleaded, kissing his fingertips and rubbing her cheek with his hand, letting her tears drip down his palm. "I love you, Justin." She laid his hand back down on his bed, patted it gently, turned on the night light that she had fixed specially for him, and left the room, glancing back at him one last time hopefully, but nothing.

…**If she had looked back one more time, she would have seen his fingers twitch. **

**

* * *

**

**(A/N: Review please!) **

**Off-topic: I turned all my avatar/profile-pics in all the sites purple for Spirit Day. What did you do? Be non-judgmental, people. Be human :) **


	11. Ch 10: All's well

**Chapter 10: All's well**

* * *

Alex woke up the next morning in her room, sniffling for no reason. She wiped at her eyes clumsily with the sleeve of her night shirt, groaning as her cell phone rang.

"Yes the world ends the next moment so you just had to call me now!" she mumbled sarcastically as she answered the call.

"Sorry." Max answered from the other end. "I just called in to check if you're doing alright."

"Yes, Maxie I am fine." She assured, groaning again. "Well, I was, until you called me and gave me a massive headache."

"Why can't you just switch off your cell phone when you sleep?" Max asked, amused.

"Uh, because I'll forget to turn it back on the next day?" she chuckled. "Max, please, that's how I lost my first cell phone. I kept calling myself and it kept saying my phone was switched off. I never found out where I had kept it!"

Max raised an eyebrow. "I thought you had kept it in Justin's room?"

That name brought her back to reality again, back to the current situation that she was in, the graveness of it sinking into her skin once again. "I… I gotta go check up on Justin. Talk to you later, Max."

"Alex…" Max sighed, fidgeting. "Look, if you need help, just tell me, I'll come over."

"No I don't need help making my house an even bigger mess." She mumbled sarcastically, sitting up on the bed, yawning. "But, thanks Maxie."

She smiled, hanging up the call and stepping on the floor, the cold marble making her wince and sit back down again. "If Justin was still Justin, this would have never happened. He would have covered the floor with a carpet and cleaned it every day. But nope! I screwed it all up! Ugh!" she snarled at herself, rubbing her forehead, putting on her fuzzy slippers and heading out of the room, ready to grab some breakfast before she changed.

"Hey mom." She greeted, grabbing her toothbrush and mint toothpaste. "Why did you wake up so early?"

Her mother shrugged. "Well, your neighbor's dog kept barking."

Alex laughed. "That's Chico. Jim's dog. He's a really cute dog. I walk him every morning… well, not today, 'cause I've got some work to do today, oh my god, I need to get ready. Later mom."

She rushed to the bathroom, skipping the breakfast. She had to get ready soon.

"You guys cook whatever you like. As long as I don't have to eat vegetables for dinner." She ordered before she left.

Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Are you there yet?"

"Gosh, John, relax." She snarled on the phone. "I'm in the car. I'm on my way. I'll be there in a minute."

"You've got the presentation ready, right Alex?" John asked, concerned.

Alex gasped. "What! I thought you were supposed to get it ready!"

"Of course! I knew I couldn't count on you!" John snapped. "But I knew this was going to happen, so I _do_ have it ready."

Alex sighed in relief. "Thank goodness, you're a life saver."

"A job-saver, actually." John retorted dryly.

"Hey!" she protested, getting off the car. "I've reached the office, so you better be ready for what's coming your way." She threatened, rushing into her workplace.

* * *

"Hey Jason, listen is it alright if I don't baby sit Rachel today, I got caught up with some work. You know, the last moment fashion disasters. Ok, thanks for understanding, bye."

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Alex slow down." Jason huffed. "I've never heard you talk so much in two years!"

"I talk!" Alex protested.

"Yeah but you never seem so… happy." Jason observed.

Alex smiled, a hint of happiness on her face. She did not realize how happy she had become till now- just being with Justin was making her this happy. "Well, my family's visiting." She stated. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth- it wasn't the reason for her happiness. "Well, I got to go, later."

* * *

When she returned home, it was already too late. Again.

"Sorry dad." She apologized, munching on her food like a hungry glutton, abandoning all the lady-like manners that she was taught. "I just had a really tough day at work."

Her father sighed, nodding. "You're working so hard honey. We never thought that would happen."

"Aww, Jerry, we're good parents." Theresa cooed.

Alex scrunched up her nose in disgust. Why couldn't people let her eat in peace? "Uh, where's Justin?" She asked, seeing he was nowhere around.

"He's already asleep. We should probably go to bed too. Goodnight sweetie."

"Night." She mumbled, suddenly feeling disappointed. She had hoped she would be able to get home early and spend a lot of time just talking to Justin, but nope, work just had to screw everything up. "This is why people shouldn't have a job!"

* * *

She finished her dinner quietly, changed into her nightclothes after taking a quick shower, and headed for her room. She paused when she reached Justin's room. He was there, in his bed, his eyes closed, hands by his side. At that moment, he almost looked normal. She felt like any moment from then, he would sit up, notice her, frown and shoot comments like "what lame prank are you going to pull now?" and then everything would be alright.

A tear rolled down her cheek at the memory, and she suddenly noticed how heavy her heart felt. She had always felt hollow without Justin, but suddenly, it was over-burdening her. She walked inside the room, closing the door behind her, and sat down beside him on the bed. This was the room they lived in together, this was the happiest place in the world, and now, a dark shadow of gloom was cast over it. Everywhere she looked brought back a hundred memories- one of the many reasons she shifted away from the room- and her eyes welled up with tears.

Sleeping on the bed, Justin looked so peaceful, so happy. Yet, she knew he wasn't feeling anything at all, and she wished he would.

"Justin", she whispered, taking his hand in hers. It had been a long day, and she remembered how Justin used to massage her hands when it pained. "I'm sorry." She whispered, hugging his hand close to her chest. "This is all my fault. This is my mess, and you're the one who's suffering for it. I'm so sorry. I wish I could take it all back… I am so, so sorry."

She looked at his face, half expecting him to open his eyes and shake his head no, letting her know that eh didn't think it was her fault, but of course, nothing of that sort happened.

"Don't you feel anything?" she asked, tugging on the collar of his shirt. "Can't you hear me, Justin?"

She bit her lip, noticing the close proximity they were in after such a long time. Her breath hitched as she inhaled his familiar scent, eyes drifting shut at the familiar feeling, the familiar warmth spreading through her body. Why couldn't he feel these?

"You have to feel Justin. You have to!"

In a desperate attempt, she connected her lips to his, pouring all her passion in it, unleashing all her longing, letting herself drown in the feeling. He _had to_ feel it. He _always_ did. He had to!

Justin's eyebrow twitched, fingers jerking for a split second. Her eyes were closed, and she didn't notice. She didn't notice his eyelids flutter open and close again in a matter of seconds. But she _did_ notice when she felt his lips tremble against hers.

She broke apart with a gasp. "Justin?" she asked in disbelief. Did he just respond or was her mind playing tricks on her?

He opened his eyes again very slowly to reveal the tears forming. "A-Alex…" he managed to stutter the word out in a low, barely audible whisper.

She blinked. Did he just say her name? She stared at him, noticing a tear drop roll down his cheek. She pinched herself, trying to wake herself up from the dream. But Justin was still there, right in front of her eyes, looking at her with those gray eyes.

So this _was_ real!

"Justin!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck clumsily and hugging him tightly, "I am so glad you're back. This was killing me. I love you so much. I'm so sorry. Oh my gosh I can't stop rambling."

He tried to hug her back, but his hands still wouldn't move, only his fingers trembled. "Alex." he whispered into her ears again, his voice strained. "I.. still … can't… move." He said, voice expressing no emotion, just stating the sentence in the form of broken words.

She looked back at him, taking his hand in hers, and entwining their fingers firmly. He was coming back slowly, and she knew it would still take a lot of time. "That's okay. I'm with you now. Everything is going to be okay."

His lips quivered as he forced them to curve upwards into a smile, his head slowly bending sideways in the form of a small nod. There were so many things he wanted to say- he needed to say- but his voice still felt feeble, and he wasn't sure if he had the strength to speak so much, so for that moment, he decided to just settle for feeling the way she felt in his arms. He had missed this-her- so much! Every emotion missing from his life was rushing back to him at once, all the memories flooding his mind, but Alex squeezing him like she was trying to crush him was overwhelming everything else. He couldn't do anything else to let her know how he felt, all he could do was speak with his eyes. But he knew there was one thing that he needed to say right then, one single thing that would let her know all was forgiven- well, they would have to talk things out later- and everything was alright between them. "I love… you… Alex…"

* * *

"It's me Alex."

"Alex, what's wrong?" The mystery guy asked.

"Nothing. Everything's all right now." Alex squealed like an excited little child. "Justin, responded today! He spoke to me!"

The guy gasped in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Alex smiled. "I'm so happy, J."

* * *

**(A/N: That's right, I introduced three OCs, one of them is the mystery guy, but that's for you to figure out as the story progresses… I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and let me know if you like this! I think I'll update every Sunday, well, depending on hits and reviews :P)**


	12. Ch 11: Meet the neighbors

**Chapter 11: Meet the neighbors**

**

* * *

Seven days later **

"Honey, are you sure you don't need our help?" Theresa asked her daughter at the airport.

Alex rested a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Mom, it's alright. Justin's better now. He can talk. He can move his hands a bit, _and_ he can do magic. Doctor said he's recovering. It'll be fine... we'll be fine, mom, I promise."

"I know Justin's going to be alright with you," Theresa smiled, placing her hand over her daughter's and squeezing it. "It's just… be careful, okay?"

Alex nodded, smiling back at her mother lovingly. "I will miss you mom, dad." She confessed, pulling them into a hug. She was not a big fan of hugs, but something at the core of her heart commanded her to hug them tight, just like she did when she was a little child. Maybe it was because she missed them and the comfort of their secure shelter over her head? Or maybe it was her way of saying sorry for all the wrong things she would be doing with their son behind their back?

She pulled back, wiping at her tears. "I should go back now. Justin may need me… Have a save trip."

* * *

"So your mom and dad are gone. That's two less people to worry about."

Alex stared at the man in front of her, taking in the same dull black color of his clothes, shaking her head in confusion. "I don't understand… why do you always wear a mask? Are you _that _ugly?"

"You don't need to know who I am." The man replied sternly.

Alex let out a fake laugh. "So you tell me that I know you in real life, and then you say I don't need to know who you are?"

"Exactly." The man said calmly. "Now don't change the topic."

Alex sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. "I wasn't worried about mom and dad. I am worried about Justin."

The mystery man shrugged. "Maybe you should just tell him yourself?"

Alex looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you _kidding_ me? I can't tell him! He'd hate me!"

"He loves you." The man reminded.

"I don't want Justin to know the truth. Period."

* * *

Alex quickly rushed to her house, and rang the doorbell, waiting for Justin to open the door. "Justin?" she called, starting to get worried when he didn't respond. "Justin, are you alright?"

"I am fine." Justin called back from the other end of the door. "I left my wand at our room. Let me just get that."

Alex groaned, leaning onto the door, closing her eyes and yawning silently. It was going to be busy week, now that her parents were gone. All she wanted to do was sleep till she felt hungry.

Suddenly, the door opened, and she stumbled back, losing her balance, tripping on her heels in the process. Luckily, she was able to support her weight on the wall and stood, panting and taking in the suddenness of the event. "Ah. Gosh! Justin!" she whined, placing her hand on her chest.

"I'm so sorry." Justin apologized quickly, dragging his wheelchair near her. "Are you alright? I didn't realize you were leaning on the door- which isn't such a great idea, by the way… I'm so sorry Alex, I didn't mean to-"

She held up a finger to his lips, effectively silencing him. "As much as I love to hear you say sorry, I've been away from you for way too long, so there's a lot of _other things_ that I wanna do."

"Huh?" he raised an eyebrow, looking at her blankly, not comprehending what she was suggesting.

"And you're the guy." She mumbled, taking off her coat, shoes, and placing her keys on the table. "Justin, mom and dad are gone. We are _all alone_."

"Umm, actually-"

"Shhh." She bent forward, resting her hands on his shoulders, gently kissing his nose. "I don't wanna _talk_ right now."

"No, Alex", he protested in a panicky tone, "You don't understand-"

"Shhh", she closed her eyes, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

Suddenly, she heard a sound of a giggle. Quickly breaking away from Justin, she turned around, wide eyed, and saw someone staring at them, covering her mouth with her hands and giggling.

"Oh, Jane." Alex groaned, embarrassed of her actions, stooped down, and picked up the little girl in her arms. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me she was here, Justin?" she demanded, glaring at him.

"I was trying to. But you wouldn't let me speak." Justin defended, glaring right back at her.

Alex smiled, even with the awkwardness of the situation. It was good to have him back. Life without his glares and retorts was just too monotonous, too boring, too useless.

"Me play here." The little girl stammered, almost incoherently, but with her practice, Alex easily understood what she said. "Me want Ray-Ray."

"Rachel's not gonna be here today, buddy." Alex said sadly, rocking her in her arms.

Jane pouted sadly, but giggled again. "You doing?" she asked, staring at her and then at Justin with big curious eyes.

Justin looked down at the ground, ashamed of himself.

"Nothing." Alex shrugged sweetly, hoping the girl would buy that. "Hey, why don't I bake you some cookies?"

"O-tay."

* * *

"You've got to be more careful!" Justin hissed, joining her in the kitchen.

"How the hell was I supposed to know she was here?" Alex hissed back, keeping her voice low so that Jane, currently occupied with dolls, couldn't hear the conversation.

"She comes here all the time!" Justin protested. "She lives next door, Alex!"

"Hey, she hasn't been here since you came!" Alex turned around, placing her hands on her hips, her voice rising in pitch to a tone that spelled 'quarrel.' Just when she was about to open her mouth, the doorbell rang. She groaned, grabbed the jar full of cookies, and rushed to answer it.

"Oh, hey Jim." She greeted.

Justin followed, staring at the man on the front door. He was somewhat in his thirties, fair, tall, handsome. Justin raised an eyebrow at Alex, smirking. He didn't feel jealous- he knew it very well than _Alex_ would never be interested in anyone else.

Alex gave Justin a death glare, knowing very well what he was trying to hint, her expression a cross between 'how can you even think that' and 'I'm going to kill you'. An evil glint appeared in her eyes, and she grinned mischievously. "This is Jim, my neighbor. And that's Justin, my boyfriend."

Justin's mouth fell open. She introduced him as her boyfriend? To her neighbor? What if he found out everything?

Jim laughed. "I met him when I came to drop off Jane, but thanks for the formal introduction. Hello, Justin. I moved in to the neighborhood after you left, but Alex told me a lot about you. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." Justin smiled, wondering how many more people Alex had shared half of her secret with.

"I'm here to take back Jane." Jim shrugged. "I hope she wasn't being a brat again."

"Oh, no, she's awesome." Justin chuckled. "Believe me man; a brat's what Alex used to be."

Alex crossed her arms, titled her head, and glared at him again.

Jim laughed. "I didn't know you guys knew each other as kids. Did you go to the same high school or something?"

_Crap._ Justin thought to himself.

"Yeah", Alex lied quickly, shifting the attention to Jane. She gave her four cookies, kissed her on the cheek, and said goodbye.

She sighed dreamily, plopping down on the couch. "Isn't she sweet?"

"Yeah", Justin nodded absent-mindedly, staring off blankly into space.

Alex wrinkled her nose in confusion. "Justin, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I…" he swallowed, fidgeting with his hands, sighed, and turned around to look her in the eye. "I was just thinking that… you know… if all these didn't happen… our kid would have been like Jane."

"Justin, please…" she begged.

"No Alex", he reprimanded sternly, "I really think we need to have this conversation right now."

**

* * *

(A/N: sorry it took me a while to write this. And sorry for the cliff-hanger :P Hope you liked it. Hope mystery and romance is blending. Please review and let me know.)**


	13. Ch 12: Confrontation, suspicion, lies

**Chapter 12: Confrontation, suspicion and lies. **

* * *

"Fine." She gave up, frowning, sitting down on the couch quietly. No good could possibly come from this, right? A part of her was trembling with dread of the consequences, but another part of her was churning with guilt- was he going to tell her how much she hurt him? Was he going to tell her how it shattered him into pieces?

"Do you wanna go first? Is there something you wanna say?" he asked softly, rubbing her arms soothingly, rubbing his hands over her arms and finally linking his fingers with hers.

She shook her head quietly, biting her lips. What was she supposed to say? That she was sorry? That she shouldn't have done any of it? That she wanted to take it all back? While she did want to do all of that, she was never good with this emotional stuff, and saying all of these to Justin was going to be really difficult, no matter how comfortable he always made her feel.

Taking her silence as a sign of her awkwardness, and realizing that she didn't know what to do, he spoke again. "Then how about I talk and you listen?" he offered sweetly.

She shrugged, heart beating too rapidly to think of ways to get out of this situation. She was always the one to back up during the last moment, but sometimes the tension was so much that her evil side was taken over by the weaker one. Right now, no matter how much she wanted to make a run for it, she just couldn't- she knew it would make things even more complicated than it already was.

"Alex, look, what happened it was…" he paused, searching for the perfect word. She held her breath, anticipating. "Horrible." He completed. "I was so shocked. I couldn't believe you would want to do something like that. I thought…" he stopped when he noticed the tears in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, putting his arms around her.

She pushed his hands away, looking at him with teary eyes. "You think it was easy for me, Justin? Throwing my own child away?"

He winced at her choice of words, but decided not to reprimand. "I'm sorry."

She nodded, wiping away her tears. "I'm too." she confessed, unable to make herself say that hated word, thankful when he did not push.

"Look, let's just leave our past behind." He suggested. "I know what happened was horrible, and I still wish you didn't do it, but what's done is done. We can't change it now. Not even magic can help… But we have a future ahead, Alex, and I don't want to wreck it."

She looked up at him in surprise. "So you're not mad at me?"

He smiled at her. "I love you."

She smiled back at him. "I love you too… _Pssyeah, right_."

He sighed, shaking his head. "This is getting too sappy for you?"

"Yes." She confirmed. "Can we end this conversation? _Please_?" She whined. "Just tell me whether you forgive me!"

He shrugged. "Yeah. We guys are pretty easy. If you know what I mean…."

"I do. And no." she snapped bluntly. "I am going to work on some stupid princess collection. Can you believe they think pink is the 'it' color this season? Now I have to turn my black-hazard color all pink and puffy…. And you're gonna clean the dishes, mop the floor, cook dinner, and set the table."

"Whoa!" he huffed indignantly. "Excuse me, but how am I supposed to do all that when I'd _tied to a_ _wheelchair_?"

She scoffed. "Just do what I'd do. Use magic!"

* * *

"…so he's not mad at me." Alex spoke to the phone.

"That's great… maybe you should tell him the truth then." The man suggested.

Alex hollered at the phone. "I cannot tell him my secret!"

"Why not?"

"Because he wouldn't understand! He's gonna hate me." she reasoned exasperatedly.

"How do you know-"

"I can't tell Justin."

"Alex-"

"-Justin must not know this!" she cut him off, yelling in a tone of finality.

"_Know what?"_

The phone dropped from her hand. She quickly placed her hand on her chest, turning around to look at the source of the voice. "Gosh, Justin! You gave me a heart attack!" she glared at him with as much confidence as she could master, while picking up her phone nervously. Her heart had jumped to her throat. How much of the conversation had he over-heard? Did he suspect something?

He narrowed his eyebrows, fixing his gaze on her. "What exactly are you not telling me?"

"Uh, nothing." She huffed, walking out of the room past him. She decided to keep up her normal confident demeanor. That should convince him.

It didn't, though. He knew her too well to know that she was lying. He followed her, getting even more suspicious when he noticed her hasty clumsy footsteps. "Who were you talking to?"

"Why were you eavesdropping on me?" she asked, instead of answering her question. "Are you trying to be one of those jealous possessive boyfriends?"

"I came here to tell you dinner's ready. Then I heard my name and… I got curious?" he offered honestly.

The sincerity of his words made her even more furious. What did he always have to be so truthful with her? That made her feel even worse for hiding the secret from him!

"Alex?" he asked again.

She sighed, crossing her arms. "Fine. I'll tell you. I wasn't cheating on you with another guy. I was planning a surprise date for us. But you kind of wrecked it."

He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "That's it? Why were you yelling then?"

"Well, that guy is so… _annoying_. Yeah… he… doesn't understand what I am saying. Ugh. I hate him!" she explained, stomping her foot for emphasis.

He smiled in relief, looking at her guiltily. "Uh, sorry I questioned you."

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You should be."

"I was just scared that you had gotten into trouble."

She scoffed. "I am not in… trouble."

And finally, the realization hit her. With a completely unknown stranger knowing her secret, her address, her work place, her phone number, was she actually in trouble? With him wanting her to tell the truth, and Justin almost getting suspicious, was she caught in a maze of lies?

**

* * *

(A/N: I was waiting for someone to send me the 200****th**** review, but nope. That's why it took this long to update. Hopefully you liked it? PM me with any guesses for this mystery guy.)**


	14. Ch 13: Suspicions raise their head

**Chapter 13: Suspicions raise their head  
**

* * *

"This is Rachel. You know, the one I told you about." Alex announced, introducing the little child to him. "I baby-sit her."

He looked at her in disbelief. "You and Baby-sitting? _Please_! Since when do you baby-sit when you don't need money?"

She ignored him, getting busy with the kid. She did hate kids in the past, and she never liked babysitting, unless she was in desperate need of money and Justin's wallet was already empty. However, she wasn't a teenager anymore, and now, things were different. Now, this was the best possible diversion for a mother still in her mourning period.

* * *

"_**Meet me at 4. J." **_

Justin blinked. The note had fallen off Alex's coat pocket. He had intended to pick it up and return it to her. However, he had gotten curious when he noticed the neat handwriting. That couldn't be Alex. Glancing at the door to make sure she wasn't around and he wouldn't be caught trespassing, he read the note scribbled on the crumpled piece of paper.

And now he was confused. Why would someone send a note like this to Alex to ask her to meet him? Couldn't he just call or text or maybe email? And J. Was that the name of some place? Or was it some person? Who was this J? Jim? Jason? John? What did he want with Alex?

His mind was already buzzing with questions, when he heard Alex's footsteps. He quickly put the note back and placed the coat aside.

"Hey." Alex greeted, smiling at him.

"Hey", he smiled back nervously. "You're looking great today." He complimented, while she sizzled in a little black dress. He didn't ask her any questions, instead just waited to see her reaction, to see if she wanted to tell him something herself.

She titled her head to the side, studying him. "Sorry. But I need to go out now. Have a meeting at 4. Work is crazy these days." She apologized, sighing. She walked up to him, wrapping her arm around his neck, and placing a kiss on his lips that made him momentarily forget the current situation. "But I _will_ see you tonight." She added, winking.

Once she was not pressed against him and he regained his breath, he was able to think properly again. Work? Was that note really from someone for her work? Why would that be an informal note like that then? And why would _Alex_ wear a black dress to work?

Now he couldn't blame himself for being suspicious. Though Alex was a pretty smooth liar, he could always tell when Alex was lying, and now was one of those times.

* * *

He juggled the wand from hand to hand for five minutes, trying to decide what the right thing to do was. He never wanted to invade Alex's privacy. He trusted her enough to give her that much of personal space and independence. But there was some sort of fear in his heart, some instinct telling him that something wasn't alright, that something was going on, and he needed to know what it was. Maybe he needed to know it for Alex's safety as well? Maybe she was in danger and needed his help?

Or maybe he was just being paranoid? Maybe he was just over-thinking? Either way, he had to find out for certain today.

"_**Please please, tell me now, is there something I should know, Deranium, Deranius"**_

* * *

Alex walked up to the man standing near the gate of a gigantic mansion, leaning against the doorframe, her heels clicking against the marble as she walked fast. The man's back was to her, as he stood there, looking up at the sky, as if that was the most happening thing in the world. His hand was tucked inside the pocket of his pants, his other hand supported on the gate.

"Why did you call me here?" she demanded angrily.

"You're finally here." The man snorted, without turning around to face her. "You're late. What? You didn't want to be here? Something more interesting going on?"

"None of your business, jerk!" she spat at him.

"Ouch." The man said in a mocking tone. "That was harsh."

Alex sighed, shaking her head. "What do you want from me?" she asked in defeat.

"You know what I want from you." He replied dryly.

"I can't do this." Alex shook her head again. "I can't do this to Justin."

"Justin won't be hurt." He assured. "Trust me."

"I don't trust you." Alex countered, venom in her voice. "I don't even know who you are!"

"I'm a friend." The man returned. "I'm trying to help you. But I can't do that unless you do what I want you to do. It's been three years Alex. I'm been here for you whenever you needed me... How long do I have to wait? I'm supposed to be somewhere else right now. Yet, I'm stuck here because of you."

Her voice trembled, tears falling down her cheeks. "I can't do this." She sobbed.

The figure finally turned around, face covered finally in mask, just two narrow slits for eyes that were an artificial shade of blue, and those eyes shone with some strange sort of emotion. "Hey, hey, I'm sorry. Relax." He assured quickly, wrapping her in a hug. "I'm so sorry Alex. I didn't mean to push you too hard." He apologized, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry."

And she didn't push him away.

* * *

Justin watched, stunned beyond belief, and completely confused. What was going on? Who the heck was that guy? And what was up with that chilling mask? She didn't even know who he was? Whoever he was, he definitely seemed evil. From what he had seen, Justin didn't like J _at all_.

And what exactly did he want from Alex? Justin _did_ have an idea about what he might want from Alex, and that just made his blood boil and his veins pump with fury. What bothered him even more was that Alex didn't shove that freak away. What was wrong with her?

Was she… she couldn't have been. She still loved him…. right?

* * *

"What a long day." Alex groaned, taking off her coat and her shoes. "No matter what Harper buys me, I'm _not _wearing heels again." she snarled, throwing her shoes far away. "I'm gonna go take a shower. And _then_…" She trailed off, grinning, and placed a small kiss on his cheek, heading for the bathroom.

Justin watched her quietly. She was acting completely normal. Like nothing happened, like a few hours back she wasn't crying in the arms of a stranger while he comforted her, like she didn't spend the last few hours just sitting aimlessly at the stairs of a building.

And now he just couldn't control himself. He _had to_ know who this guy was.

Mind filled with guilt, pain, anxiety, and questions, he grabbed Alex's cell phone. There _had _to be some note somewhere. Alex was always extremely careless and over-confident.

However, he found no messages in her phone that sounded remotely suspicious. There were no calls from private numbers either. There were no pictures, or recordings, or-

Justin gasped. There was a number stored as "J"!

He glanced at the bathroom door again. The door was still closed, the shower running. He knew she would take another twenty minutes in there.

The big question was, did he really want to do this? Did he really want to act like a creepy, stalking boyfriend? Well, he had every right to be an over-protecting big brother.

So he dialed the number, holding his breath.

* * *

**(A/N: dun dun dun. Evil cliff hanger XD I updated this after ages, sorry, I was just busy with life and other fics. But well, it's almost done now and I intend to finish this by 2010. Tell me what you think. Please review!) **


	15. Ch 14: Drifting apart, getting closer

**Chapter 14: Drifting apart, getting closer**

* * *

His heart hammered against his ribs, as he pressed her phone near his ear, his earlobe burning as if it was fire. He felt like anything could happen any time. It could be anyone on the other end. Was it someone he knew? If Alex couldn't make out who it was, would he be able to do it? And what was he going to ask this person? Who are you and why are you stalking my sister?

As he dialed the number and waited for someone to pick it up, his cell phone began to buzz in his jeans. Justin cursed under his breath, taking his cell phone out to see who was calling at _this_ moment. He was startled when he saw the number read Alex. He sat, confused, just staring at the screens of the two phones in his hand.

Alex! What the heck! Alex had saved _his_ number as J?

The shower was turned off just then, and Justin was snapped out of his trance. He quickly threw the phone away, mentally making a note to delete the last call from the list before she found it.

"Hey." Alex smiled innocently, trusting and unsuspicious.

He would have felt guilty, if she wasn't the one hiding a secret. In front of her betrayal, his seemed like a drop of water in the ocean. "Hey." He greeted back, forcing a small smile on his lips. "I feel so tired today… I'm just gonna go sleep now. I was thinking about sleeping our old room today…?"

"Okay…" she replied, a bit confused in his sudden lack of enthusiasm, and his sudden desire to sleep in the old room they used three years back. "Your medicines must be affecting you. Maybe we need to see the doctor."

"I'm fine." He assured. The only thing wrong with him was the pain in his heart.

She huffed, but decided not to argue with him. She was going to have her way anyway.

* * *

"Justin?" she asked hesitantly, once they were in the bedroom upstairs. "Why did you want to sleep in this room today?"

"Memories." He explained briefly. "We used to live here…" when things weren't this complicated, he wanted to add.

Her heart melted, and she wrapped him in her arms. "I was thinking about shifting here too…"

He sighed softly. He was trying hard to believe that she meant the words, the hug, the warmth that she was showing, but every time the image of her in J's arms flashed in front of him, his whole world was drenched with uncertainty. "Come on. It's getting late."

She nodded. "I'll just grab a few things from downstairs."

* * *

He just lay in the bed. Thinking, yet trying not to think too hard. It was clear that Alex had stored his own name as J, just to trick him, in case he ever tried to make the call. What he couldn't understand was why she didn't trust him with her secret. Was this the same girl who came running to him to turn their guinea-pig parents back to human? Was this the same girl who leant her head on his shoulder when they had lost the ones they then loved?

Was this the same girl who was in love with him?

* * *

Alex hummed to herself, taking out Justin's cupcake from the refrigerator and munching on it happily. She had been so sad just a few hours back. But being at home with Justin eased off all her pain and problems. She grabbed her i-pod, a bottle of water, in case Justin felt thirsty at midnight, and her cell phone. She started climbing up the stairs cheerfully, taking two steps at a time, as she browsed through her cell phone. She had ran across an old classmate on her way back home, and given her a miscall from her cell phone. Now she needed to save the number.

Her legs froze when she noticed that the last call made from her cell phone said J.

J. Justin. That was how she had stored his number for the last three years, when running across his name suddenly was causing her to break down. She had forgotten to change it back to Justin when he came back again, mainly because she didn't really need to call him after that.

The strange part was that she did not remember calling Justin that day. She was sure of it. She couldn't have called him by mistake either. Her cell phone was key-pad locked. It couldn't have been an accident. And even if it was, Justin would have mentioned it. He would have asked her why she had given him a miscall, if there was anything she wanted. He would have probably even called back.

And then she remembered Justin sitting on the bed, with her phone right beside him, when she had come out of the shower.

A cold shiver ran down her spine. Did Justin make the call? Did Justin make the call to _J? _Did he know about J somehow? Was he suspecting something?

Was her life going to face yet another Holocaust?

* * *

She entered the room, her eyes instantly snapping up to Justin's face. His eyes were closed, the back of his palm resting against his forehead, his chest rising and falling as he took in deep, fast breaths.

"Justin…" she whispered, contemplating asking him about the call. But then, what if he asked her about J? What was she going to say then? He didn't bring the topic up yet, so maybe he wanted her to ignore it too? Maybe she wasn't supposed to find out that he had tried to call J? Maybe it was better that way?

"Hmm…?" he whispered back, wondering if he should question her. Then again, knowing her, it was useless. She would just lie to him. Again.

"Good night." She whispered, brushing aside the idea.

"Night." He whispered back, deserting the idea as well.

He felt the other side of the bed sink, as she lay down beside him, weary, hesitant. She wanted to do nothing more than to just crush him with a hug and make him her that everything was alright. That they were together, and always would be. But she couldn't. The guilt and fear held her back. All she could do was pretend that she did not know he was scouting for her secret.

His fingers twitched, wanting nothing more than to hold her hand and reassure himself that she was still his. Instead, he kept to his side, pretending that he didn't know she was keeping a secret.

The more he got suspicious, the more he got closer to the mystery, the more they were drifting apart….

* * *

Alex blinked. It was morning, after a sleepless, never-ending night, and she had reached for her cell phone. Only to find that the call had already been deleted from the list! So Justin _did_ want her to be clueless about this.

Question was, was that a good thing or a bad thing? The clear blue sky, or the calm before the storm?

* * *

"I think Justin knows about you." She whispered on the phone, looking around her carefully to see that he wasn't around, but with magic in his blood, she could never be sure.

J scoffed. "What are you talking about?"

When Alex explained what had happened, J sighed. "Maybe we should cancel our plans for today."

"What! No!" she hissed in protest. "I was looking forward to it the whole week."

"We have to be careful." J scolded. "At least for a few days. Don't call me when you're at home. And don't meet me till I tell you, okay?"

"Okay." Alex agreed, though disappointed.

Maybe it was better if she could cut this thing off, escape this burning maze, at least for a few days. After all, the more she got closer to achieving her goal, and the more she lied to Justin, the more they were drifting apart. Maybe she could use this time to mend their relationship?

* * *

Justin pointed the wand at his legs. He never liked using healing spells, since they weren't legal, and were dangerous too. But he was going to track down J. For that, he would need his legs again. He was going to heal his legs, so that he could walk again.

And he wasn't going to tell Alex. True, she was waiting for that day, but she could get suspicious at his sudden decision. He had to be discrete, he had to be careful.

He had to find out what was going on.

* * *

J twirled the wand in his fingers, his foot resting on the table, his head titled back.

He _did_ want Justin to find out the secret. But from Alex. Not the way it was progressing. It could destroy everything, shatter all the plans he had made. All those years he spent in endless pain, all the days he had spent without her, all the nights he spent swallowing powerful spells- everything he had done for so long would be in vain. He was sure that Justin was going to come after him, that he was going to try to hunt him down using magic.

And he knew _exactly_ how to take care of that.

* * *

**(A/N: A lot of things happened here. Hope I didn't confuse you. Things are heating up. Hope you liked the chapter. Please review. I put in a lot of effort to get this chapter up so soon.)**


	16. Ch 15: Right in front of his eyes

**Chapter 15: right in front of his eyes**

* * *

Justin took in a deep breath. He had just performed the healing spell on his legs. Now it was time to test if it worked or not. So he tried to move his legs. He was shocked to see that they didn't move. Taking in another deep breath to calm himself, he tried again. His legs still wouldn't move. Now he was growing desperate and fearful. He tried to jerk his feet, still getting no response. What was wrong? Did the spell not work? Or had he lost his legs forever?

"Justin…" Alex called out, frozen at the door frame when she saw him frantically trying to move his legs. "Are you alright?" she asked, fearing the worst.

He was snapped out of it when he heard her voice. He looked at her, finally noticing that his vision had blurred with tears. "My legs…" he trailed off, chocking, unable to say the rest.

She didn't know what to say to console him. So she simply walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Shhh. It's okay." She comforted. "Maybe you should see the doctor."

He nodded, hugging her back. With him this useless, the only thing left in his life was her. The only thing that kept him alive, the only thing that kept him going, was Alex. Was she going to leave him for J?

* * *

**Two days later**

"Uh, Justin?" Alex asked impatiently, glancing around the boring and lifeless hospital room.

He smacked her arm lightly. "Keep it down! We're in a hospital! What do you want?"

She rolled her eyes, leaning forward to whisper in his ears. "I need to use the rest-room. You stay here. You're gonna be okay, right?"

He shrugged. "I'll be fine. Go. I'll wait for you right here."

Alex smiled, getting up and rushing out of the room.

Justin smiled, watching her walk away so hurriedly. He picked up a random science magazine, going through the recent happenings, and remembering how life used to be back in his teenage.

"Life is so strange, isn't it?" The man beside him suddenly mumbled.

Justin turned his head to look at the man who had asked such an eccentric question. The man was sitting beside him, dark sunglasses covering his eyes, a baseball cap covering his head and hiding his hair, his nose hidden by a mask, and only his thin, dull lips visible. He was wearing a simple black suit, with simple boots, and a silver watch on his wrist. There was something about this man that Justin didn't like.

Justin shrugged. "It is." He kept staring at the man's face, particularly at the mask for the nose.

"Dust allergy." The man explained, his voice throaty with cold.

Justin nodded. "Didn't mean to be rude. I was just curious."

The man waved him off. "That's okay. Don't worry… Anyways, I got to go now. You take care of yourself. _And your girlfriend_."

Justin smiled. "Thanks. You take care too." he returned his attention to the magazine again, only to notice that the page he was reading was gone. In its place was a white page, with words written in neat letters, the same handwriting he recognized from that note of J.

"_Take GOOD care of Alex. I wonder where she is right now…"_

A shiver ran down his spine as the magazine slipped out of his hands. Alex! Without wasting a single second to think or even breathe, he got up from the chair, dashing wildly towards the restroom, ignoring the looks of confusion and annoyance that people shot him. The only thing running through his mind was that Alex had to be okay. She _had to be._ Nothing could happen to her. _Nothing. _

He was relieved when he saw her coming out of the restroom, untouched, unhurt.

"Alex!" he called out, wrapping her protectively in his arms. "Are you okay?"

Alex looked up at him in confusion. "Yeah. I'm fine. I was just… oh my gosh! Justin!" she pulled apart from him, mouth open in shock as she eyed him up and down again and again.

He raised an eyebrow, still panting from running so fast. "What?"

"You are standing on your feet." She breathed. "You can walk again."

And for the first time, he became aware that his legs had moved. He had been so consumed worrying about her that it had escaped his notice! "I can." He blinked, slowly comprehending everything that happened. "I can walk again! I guess I just ran without thinking when I-"

Justin's eyes widened. That note _had to_ have been sent by J. So J was the man sitting next to him? _Really_? He was _right_ in front of his eyes and he didn't even _know that_!

Justin looked around the hallway once. He couldn't see the man anywhere. Damn. He just let J escape! He hadn't even seen his eyes and face properly! How was he supposed to track him down?

He looked at Alex once again, seeing her staring at him in confusion. "Justin, are you okay?"

He smiled at her, nodding, gently cupping her cheeks in his hands and titling her head towards his. "I'm fine as long as you're okay. And I'm not going to let anything happen to you while I'm around. I promise."

She scrunched up her nose in confusion, but shrugged it off, grinning back at him. "Do you still think you're a superhero? I thought that was, like, fifteen years back. What a dork!"

* * *

J watched from the corner as Justin and Alex hugged, then held hands, walking back to the waiting room. Justin walking again was one good thing that finally happened. He had been waiting for that for so long. Well, at least something went according to his plan.

And the rest would go too. He was sure Justin took the note seriously. He could _never_ do anything to Alex, he couldn't even think of doing something to her, even in his wildest dreams. But _Justin_ didn't know that. Justin was going to focus more on taking care of Alex.

And Justin was going to stop looking for him, which would buy him more time to convince Alex. So they were back on his track again. Perfect.

* * *

"This is boring." Alex complained, as they sat on the couch, cuddling, and watching a movie Justin had picked, claiming it was interesting. (It wasn't). "I thought we were going to throw a party to celebrate."

Justin rolled his eyes. "It isn't boring once you understand what is going on in the movie. You haven't been paying attention. We'll celebrate when I get a job."

Alex titled her head to look at him. "Job? Why do you need a job?"

Justin smirked. "Umm, because that's why I studied my whole life?"

Alex glared at him. "Doctor said you need to rest."

Justin sighed. "I know. I know. But…I can't let you do all the work while I do nothing, Alex."

"Look at it this way." Alex started. "You did everything for me when we were kids. Now I'm doing everything for you. And when you get better and your medicines stop, you can do everything for me again for the rest of our lives. Sounds good?"

Justin smiled, stroking her hair. She was just so beautiful, inside and outside. How dare J even dream of harming her while he was around! "When did you grow up so much, Alex?"

She smacked his arm. "Uh, I just entitled you to be my slave for a life-time and you're calling me a grown-up? Yup. Next time I'm getting your brain checked."

Justin laughed. "_Entitled? _When did you learn big words, Alex?"

"Ugh, Justin!" she growled. "I can't stand you!"

She smacked him hard with a pillow, placing it on his shoulder, placing her head over it, and trying to sleep.

Silence returned, as Justin sat there quietly, finally thinking about the things that had happened that day. Now that J had threatened to harm Alex, there was _no way_ he was letting J run lose. But what clues did he even have?

The note appearing in the magazine out of nowhere _proved _that J was a wizard.

And he was pretty sure that Jim and Jason were wizards as well. He had seen their little kids accidentally use magic. There was no question that they were a wizard family. John? The way he did the presentations at the last minute, either he had to be a wizard, or a person who could write 100 pages in 10 minutes, which was impossible.

The question was, which one of them was J? Was it even any one of them?

What else did he know about him? Well, J had a neat handwriting... _and a cold._ That's it! J had a cold! Now all he needed to do was find out which one of them had a cold!

"What! You're awake!" Alex faked a gasp, followed by a dramatic yawn, "The movie didn't put you to sleep yet?" she teased.

Justin looked at her, not answering, just staring at her, reflecting over his choice. True, Alex did not tell him anything about J, but that didn't mean he couldn't tell her what he knew about J! Now that her life was in danger, maybe it would be better if she knew what was going on? Or maybe that would scare her?

What was the right thing to do? Should he tell Alex about the note?

**

* * *

(A/N: what do you think- should he tell Alex? Did you like this chapter? Please review. I updated because you reviewed.)**


	17. Ch 16: The secret

**Chapter 16: the secret

* * *

**

His eyes glossed with fear as he looked at her face, so innocent, so simple, so smart. It was so hard to believe that she was holding back secrets behind those deep brown eyes. His heart pained as he thought of the different possibilities, and also about the danger that she was in. He _had to _tell her. He had to make sure she was careful.

Justin turned off the TV.

"Gosh, Justin, you don't need to get mad so easily!" Alex protested, hugging him tightly. "I was just joking."

"It's not about that." He shook his head firmly, pushing her away with his gentle hands, and looking straight into her eyes. "It's about J."

She was stunned, speechless. She had been hoping and praying that he wouldn't want to talk about this. But now, the subject that she had been avoiding was finally brought out. What was she going to do? Lie again to the one person who trusted her most? Or risk telling him the truth?

"Alex. You need to tell me everything. _Please." _He pleaded helplessly.

She kept quiet, biting her lip. J wanted her to tell him the truth. Justin wanted her to tell him the truth. Yet, she was scared. What if Justin couldn't take the truth and went back to being numb?

"Please Alex." he pleaded again, trying to coax the truth out of her. Couldn't she share this much with the person she wanted to share the rest of her life with?

She shook her head, looking down at the ground. "I can't tell you. You won't understand."

"I understood when you wished that our parents had never met." He pointed out. "You think I won't understand this, whatever it is?" he asked, his heart breaking a little more each time she denied him the whole truth. Their relationship had withstood a lot of blows, but with each blow, cracks had developed, and now they were hold together by a thin rope that could break any moment. They could break apart anytime.

"I can't tell you." She whimpered, as tears started to form in her eyes. "I'm sorry Justin."

This time, he was the speechless one. Even when he confronted her, she wasn't going to tell him? Everything has a limit. The limit to his tolerance had been reached. He loved her so much, but love alone couldn't solve _everything. _The decision he took was _really_ hard, and if he thought logically, he wouldn't have done it. But his anger got the best of him, his emotions taking over the rational part of his head. "Then I'm sorry too." he snapped, storming up the stairs.

As he walked up the stairs, she sat alone at the living room, crying her heart out, wishing he would come back and comfort her. But deep in her heart, she knew she had gone too far this time. Just five minutes ago everything was alright- or at least she could pretend that everything was all right. And now her world was ending. Again.

* * *

Four hours of silence and sobbing later, he came down the stairs, with bags in his hands, his eyes red with crying, his head a messy nest.

She looked up at him in shock. "W-Where are you going?" she stuttered fearfully, abandoning the couch she was sitting on and standing in his way, like a barrier between him and the front door.

"Move Alex." He shot a pointed look at her direction, his eyes dark, almost burning with a perilous fire that could burn down the relation they built out of ashes. "I'm moving away. I figured that I'm the third wheel here. So I'm going away. Now you can be with J." he spat spitefully, each word stabbing his own chest the same time it stabbed hers.

"What! No! I don't want to be with J!" she protested immediately, fresh tears forming in her eyes. "I want to be with you, forever and ever….so long that I said ever twice. I don't-"

He held up a finger to her lips, silencing her. She stopped breathing, stopped thinking, stopped doing anything at all. She just looked up at him with all the hope and anticipation in the world.

His cold words dug a hole right into her soul. "Save it."

She held his hand in hers, squeezing it tightly, and shook her head vigorously. "Justin, I don't want to tell you anything because I think the truth will break you. I lost you for three years. I don't want to lose you again."

"You're losing me anyway." He countered, giving her one last chance.

She remained silent. She was torn, confused. What was the right thing to do?

He took her silence as her decision to keep quiet about J. "Just so you know", he started, his heart pounding, and a voice at the back of his head screaming at him, asking him how he could leave Alex alone in the face of danger. What happened to his vow of protecting her forever? "I got a note from J. He told me to take care of you. Turns out that this guy you like wants to harm you. And the guy you're throwing away is the one who wanted to save you. Funny, right?"

He turned around, picking up the bags, starting to walk away. She stumbled back, her back hitting the table with a loud crash as the glasses were knocked down, falling on the marble floor and breaking with a shrill noise. "Justin, wait…" she whispered weakly. Her eyes gleamed with fear, her throat was getting choked. She felt like she could pass out any minute.

He stopped, but did not turn back to look at her. One look into her broken eyes, and he would break down too.

"I'm scared…" she confessed, wrapping her arms around herself.

He closed his eyes tightly and took in a deep breath. Could he really walk away from Alex, leaving her like this, with her life at threat? Would he ever be able to forgive himself if something happened to Alex? Did he really not want to try, fight for this love?

"I'm scared because…" she paused, taking in a deep breath. "He has Ashley."

Justin turned his head to the side, watching her skeptically. "Who's Ashley?"

She locked eyes with him, her lips trembling with the consequences of what she was about to say. This could make or break them. "O-our dau-… _our daughter_."

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**(A/N: Alex's secret is out now. Explanations/details in next chapter. J's identity is coming soon. So, did you like this? Please review! Last chapter tanked review-wise. Well, what goes up has to come down. But I'm someone who comes back up. So watch out XD)**


	18. Ch 17: Confrontation and truth

**Chapter 17: Confrontation, and truth**

* * *

She locked eyes with him, her lips trembling with the consequences of what she was about to say. This could make or break them. "O-our dau-… our daughter."

He turned around, looking at her properly, and let out a nervous laugh. "What! Alex, come on. Remember what you told me that day? You said you, you…"

"I said I did _it_". She pointed out, her breath hitching as she anticipated his reaction. "I was talking about setting up an appointment with the doctor. You just assumed that I was talking about… and you went all…" she trailed off, unable to fill in the blanks with dreaded words.

His face finally turned serious. "So you mean you didn't….?"

"No." She shook her head. "She's with J now. Justin, I'm so sorry."

The world around him did a whirl, and the rest of her words blurred out. He fell down on the ground, on his knees, his head in his hands, unable to form words and react, with the urge to scream out to the sky.

"I can explain, Justin, please." She pleaded, as she started to cry once again.

He suddenly stood up, grabbed her arms roughly, and looked into her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" he demanded fiercely.

"You went numb for three years." She stuttered out, feeling a bit intimidated by him, and glaring at the arm where his nails were digging into her skin. "I couldn't tell you when you came back 'cause I was scared that I'd lose you again… Justin, you're hurting me."

He let go of her, breathing heavily in fury. "So why didn't you do it? And why did you give her to J? Tell me Alex! Answer me!"

She took a step back, rubbing at the wound in her arm. Taking in a deep breath, she began recollecting, her words haphazard and almost gibberish, while Justin listened patiently.

"It was the day I was supposed to… do it. I was getting ready to go, when someone called me. I didn't recognize the number or the voice. He told me I couldn't do this. I hung up. He called again but I didn't answer him… I was too depressed back then, with you gone and the child… about to go too. And then, the man sent me a text saying he knew it was my brother's child. I was so scared! I answered the call the next time he called me and asked him what he wanted from me. He told me that he wanted the child. I didn't want to give up my child to some stranger. But I thought about it and figured that it was better than… killing it. I mean, it's our fault. We should have been more responsible. Why should a little life suffer for it?

"Anyways, so Ashley was born, and J adopted her. I was allowed to see her whenever I wanted. Over the years, J became a great friend. I can't believe he threatened to kill me… he was such a nice guy. He always told me to tell you everything. He even wanted to give us back the child if we ever got back together-"

"-Then take her back." Justin interrupted. "We are back together now, Alex. Tell him we want our child back."

Alex looked at him in alarm. "I don't know, Justin. I'm scared. Ever since you came back into the picture, everything has been so confusing! I don't even know what to do anymore!"

Justin took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Then do what I told you to do. - Everything will be fine Alex. Don't worry about it." He promised, even though he wasn't so sure himself. He was certain about one thing though- as long as he was breathing, nothing would happen to his family.

**

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**

"So you told Justin?" J sighed in relief, smiling happily. _Finally_, he thought to himself.

"Yeah, I did." Alex nodded, as Justin tended to her wound. "And we want Ashley back. So…"

"Ok." J agreed instantly. "Meet me at the usual place. 4 pm."

* * *

The time had finally arrived. 3.58, 3.59. Every minute seemed like a battle with time. Finally the clock struck 4, and the sounds of familiar footsteps could be heard across the room.

"Alex?" J asked uncertainly. "Justin?"

"We're here." Alex answered in a timid voice, quite unlike herself. She was feeling so nervous, so scared, yet so excited, and so guilt free after telling Justin anything. She was feeling safe and protected too, with Justin by her side. Still, her voice came off small. A mother's heart is always timid.

Little Ashley ran to her, hugging her legs. "Mommy! Look J bought what! A new axon fiture! Now me has 10!"

Alex smiled at her daughter, placing a kiss on her cheek.

Justin stood motionless, staring at his daughter in awe for the first time. She was so beautiful, so sweet, so innocent, with dark black hair like both of them, gray eyes like his that radiated intelligence and good character, and lips and jaws like her mother. His eyes were filled with tears, as he stooped down, petting the head of his little girl. He was overwhelmed with such incredible feelings in his heart- longing, regret, guilt, love, over-protectiveness. To say that he was glad Alex didn't destroy this would be an understatement. Everything else in the world appeared trivial to him at the moment.

"Thank you." Alex breathed as she finally spotted J. Justin hugged his daughter tenderly, ready with his wand in his hand.

J shrugged. "It's no big deal. My work here is done I guess… I need to go back home now… Bye Alex." J walked towards her, invading her personal space, and lifted his mask slightly, revealing his lips.

Her eyes widened in alarm as she realized what he was going to do, and she took a step back.

"It's just a good-bye kiss." J urged.

She looked at Justin, pleading him with her eyes to tell her what to do.

His first instinct was to shout out 'hell no' and slap J across that masked face, but Justin resisted the urge and thought for a moment. This guy did take care of their daughter and give her back to them. So even if he was a major creep and totally annoying, what harm could one kiss possibly do? What if things went wrong if she disobeyed him? But could he let her kiss someone else? What the heck was this guy planning to now? Would he let go of Alex _this_ easily? Please!

"Who _are_ you?" Justin asked suddenly, feeling very curious. None of the three guys he suspected had a cold. So was it someone else? Or was he just using magic to heal himself?

"That's not important." J replied calmly, instead of snapping and yelling, like Justin was expecting him to do. "Alex?"

Alex looked at Justin again, seeking permission. When he nodded, hesitantly at first and then more firmly, Alex closed her eyes and grew stiff.

"Relax." J whispered against her cheek. "I'm not going to hurt you." And with that, he crashed his lips on her, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

She was freaked out when she realized that she wasn't completely disgusted by the kiss. In fact, she liked the way his tongue moved against hers, and the texture of his lips. She brought her hands to his chest, but she couldn't make herself push him away. What was wrong with her? What was happening to her?

Justin looked away, unable to see this anymore. A part of him was jealous, another part scared that J may hurt her, and a third and larger part afraid that this guy had stolen his girl. He hoped that the kiss would end soon, and decided not to look or think about it.

He turned Ashley around, gently stroking her cheeks. He didn't know how to begin his conversion with her. Should he say hi? Hello? How are you? Should he tell her he's her father or should he wait for Alex? Was she going to like him? Was she going to answer him, talk to him?

"How do you spell your name Ashley?" he finally asked, grinning. At her age, he could say the spelling of his name, while Alex couldn't. He was so excited to see who their daughter took after! He had so much of catching up to do!

Ashley smiled at Justin, not at all shy, and began spelling. "A. Et. Ech. Lel." She completed proudly.

Justin didn't even bother to correct her. He smiled wider, admiring her adorable accent. He hugged her tightly, feeling like the happiest person in the world.

Suddenly, Alex broke apart from J with a gasp.

Justin looked at her in panic. "Alex, are you okay?" he got up, rushing to her side and ready to beat the life out of the creep if he had dared to do _anything_ to his Alex.

Alex held up a hand and stopped him. "No, Justin, wait…. I think I know who he is."

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**A/N: dun dun dun. Last cliffhanger. J will be revealed in next chapter. So you decide when you want that to be up and you review accordingly. :P Well this chapter was long and did take a lot of efforts and neglecting homework..  
**


	19. Ch 18: The truth about J

**Chapter 18: the truth about J

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**

"I think I know who he is." Alex breathed out, staring at J with questioning eyes. She had finally figured out who he was. Honestly, she was surprised that she couldn't figure it out earlier. Why didn't she know it was him? It was him, right? She wasn't mistaken, was she?

Justin stopped dead in his tracks in shock. "You do?" he asked in wonder, staring at J. Even at that moment, he had no clue who this man was. So how could Alex recognize him?

J took a step back. "No you don't!" He snapped, his voice threatening.

Alex held her chin up boldly and took a step forward towards him. "Drop the act, _Justin._"

"What the…" Justin muttered, utterly confused by her words. How could it be him? He was standing right here, beside her! Was it his duplicate then? How many duplicates did she create?

As they both held their breath in anticipation of J's response, J sighed. "Fine Alex, you got me."

And with that, he lifted the mask off his face, revealing an older version of Justin, with his head half bald, almost like their father's, his skin wrinkling.

Alex gasped in surprise. This wasn't _exactly _what she was expecting.

Justin's jaw dropped open. "That thing _cannot_ be me."

"I am you." J assured. "I am Justin, from the future."

Justin shook his head firmly. "That's impossible! You don't even have the same eye color as me!"

Future Justin titled his head to the side and stared at him. "Did you give your wits to Alex or something? It's a lens, genius!"

Justin shook his head again. "It's still not possible. I would _never _use a time-travel spell. It's too dangerous! It can affect the space-time continuum resulting in-"

Alex interrupted, waving him off. "-Yeah yeah, I got it, even though I don't give a damn about that. What I wanna know is- what are you doing here, Justin?"

"I came here to save our child." Future Justin answered, smiling tenderly at Ashley. The three years he had spent with her was the best time he had in this life.

Justin snorted. "And you couldn't travel further back to get me off the wheelchair."

Future Justin looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "My spell didn't work perfectly…" he answered in a low voice.

Alex nudged Justin with her elbow, shooting a teasing smile at him, before she turned serious again. "Gosh, this is so complicated. I don't understand this! How come you're not like Justin? How come you're so… scary?"

Future Justin smiled sadly. "The future changed me. The future I come from isn't so kind."

Alex scrunched up her nose in confusion. "What the heck does that mean?"

"Talking about the future is too dangerous. I can't tell you anything." Future Justin snapped instantly. "Which is why I didn't want you to find out it was me!"

"But I did." Alex grinned victoriously. "The kiss kind of ruined the whole secret thing. But I'm impressed Justin. I never thought you could pull something off like this."

"I don't see any harm in talking about the future you come from." Justin commented. "No offense, but I'm pretty sure that you changed it."

"That is what I came here for." Future Justin replied. "Fine, I'll tell you what happened… In my future, I grew old alone, confined to a wheelchair. Alex grew old alone in Florida. We never met again. We never got back together. I don't even know what her life was like! She died at the age of _thirty-five_. That's what got me out of the trance. I decided _right then_ that I was going to change the past."

"And you came back here." Alex completed, joining the pieces together and constructing the whole story.

"How did you do that?" Justin asked curiously. "What spell did you use?"

"Forbidden Spell." Future Justin replied briefly. "While I'm here, I'm actually dreaming in the future. But I need to wake up soon; otherwise I will die in the future and will be trapped here forever. I need to leave."

Alex shrugged non-chalantly. "Well, I got everything back, so works for me."

Future Justin smiled at them, as he grabbed his wand to do the spell. "Bye Alex. Bye Ashley. I'll see you again in the future. I hope to wake up to a brighter future."

And with the flash of a light, Future Justin was gone.

Justin blinked. "Wow. It's over… I can't believe it. That was actually me!"

Alex blinked back a few tears. She had really bonded with him, without even realizing it. "I'm going to miss him." She admitted. She took Justin's hand in hers, squeezing it. "But I'm sure that the future we'll now go to is going to be awesome." She smiled at him, gently kissing him on the lips. "Come on."

She picked up Ashley, leading the way.

Justin smiled as he watched his family and followed them. He brushed his hair tenderly with his hands. "I can't believe I grow bald in the future!" he mused to himself.

"I can't believe I didn't take a picture of that!" Alex mused to herself. "Oh, and by the way Justin, I kind of borrowed your wallet from the future."

"_When_ did you even do that?" Justin asked incredulously.

Alex just grinned.

"Arggh-uggh-aahh-ALEX!"

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**(A/N: that's it guys. The secret is out. Sorry for the short chapter. I hope you liked it. Please review and let me know. Thanks for the amazing response! Look forward to the epilogue.) **


	20. Epilogue the new future

**Epilogue… Let's catch a glimpse of the new future, shall we?

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**

"MOM! DAD!" Ashley shouted, rattling the door. She had been out at her friend's house to do homework, but then she got distracted, started watching cartoons, and now she was late. Her dad had called her up three times, once to remind her that it was past her curfew and asking her to come home quickly, the second time to ask her to come home right away, and the last time to tell her that he was going to drive to her friend's house and get her back. Now how humiliating would that have been? So she quickly called up her mother, telling her that she was on her way so her father didn't need to worry, and in the end adding that she would come home after having dinner at her friend's.

After having a small argument and making up, Justin and Alex had finally decided to go to bed. What else could they do? Their daughter wasn't coming home till she wanted. He wanted to get her back but she wasn't going to let him do that. Besides, they needed rest for the next day.

Justin groaned, squinting his eyes open to look at the clock. It read 11 p.m. in red glaring letters. "It's past her curfew." Justin mumbled, shaking Alex up.

Alex groaned, smacking him and shoving him away. "So? You want to leave our daughter at the door so that she can freeze?"

"No. That's not what I meant." Justin protested, followed by a sleep yawn. "I just don't feel like dealing with her right now. Without eight hours of sleep, my brain won't function properly and I can't scold her…Please just get the door."

Alex kicked his feet hard. Getting up from bed and that too on a cold winter night wasn't her favorite idea- especially when Justin was available to do the same job. It would benefit her and entertain her at he same time. "Why should _I_ get the door?" she demanded.

He thought of a good reason, but finding none, he settled for the lame one that popped into his head. "She said your name first." He pointed out, as their daughter pounded on the door, with the intention of breaking it open, like she had done, and not too long ago.

"Justin, please", she whined, pulling the covers over her head. "I've got a big presentation tomorrow for the spring collection."

"And I've got a lecture." He countered, burying his face in the pillow. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Alex, are we bad parents?" he asked, his words muffled by the pillow, but with years of practice, she understood.

"What! No! This is how mom and dad brought us up. Pfft…" Alex chuckled, concentrating on going back to sleep.

"GUYS!" Ashley called again impatiently. "IT'S CHILLY OUT HERE!" she wrapped her arms around herself, regretting listening to her mother and not taking the jacket her father wanted her to take.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU BROKE THE RULE!" Alex yelled back sternly.

"That's it!" Ashley mumbled, taking out her wand from her boot. Breaking one more rule wouldn't hurt. She was getting grounded anyway.

Alex smiled at the silence, knowing that her daughter was smart enough to find her own way in, and stared at a sleeping Justin. She moved closer, cuddling with him. She gently stroked his hair, trying to find traces of gray, but finding none. She was getting suspicious that he was using magic to take care of his hair ever since he saw that J was bald, which was totally unfair, since her hair was starting to gray and he wouldn't do anything about that. She touched his cheeks, gently stroking them with her fingertips.

"Alex, come on, get the door." Justin mumbled desperately, one step away from doing it himself. As much as he was tired, and angry at his daughter, he just couldn't risk leaving her there. Knowing her, she may take ideas from her mother's stories and pop into random places.

"Uh, I'm already here."

Alex and Justin jumped apart immediately after hearing the voice, to find their daughter standing in the room.

"What are you doing here?" Alex hissed, throwing a pillow at her.

Ashley ducked it, picked it up, and threw it back at her mother. "I teleported to the wrong room-"

"-See, she's just like you!" Justin pointed out.

"She's not like me!" Alex protested. "I wouldn't stare at mom and dad when they are… gosh, this is so embarrassing!"

Ashley shrugged; silently placing her wand on the table, hoping that the submissive gesture would make her parents let her keep her cell phone. "It was gross, but I couldn't look away…. Goodnight guys."

"Night, sweetie." Justin greeted back, blushing deep red.

Alex raised an eyebrow at him, chuckling. "_Sweetie_? You actually think she's sweet?"

Justin shrugged, settling back in bed. "Hey, mom called _you _sweetie, so fair enough."

Sighing, yawning, and kissing one last time, they went back to sleep again.

"MOM! DAD!" Another scream came from the adjoining room, within ten minutes.

"Not again!" Alex groaned. "Ashley, what did you do to your brother?" she yelled.

The two kids stormed into their parents' room without knocking or asking for permission, switching on the lights.

"I didn't do anything! Luke has taken away my pillow!" Ashley complained.

"You don't own the pillow!" The eight year old boy protested, sticking out his tongue at his thirteen year old sister. "Besides, you should have thought of that before you decided to come home late, which by the way is very irresponsible of you, right dad?"

"Don't try to change the topic!" Ashley warned. "And yes I do own that pillow! Dad gave it to me, not you!"

"Daddy's little princess!" Luke mimicked, running up to his mother. "Mommy, can I use the pillow, please?"

"No you can't, it's mine!" Ashley protested immediately. "Daddy?"

Justin and Alex looked at each other with sleep deprived eyes. Justin raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yep, I do feel bad for annoying mom and dad." Alex agreed, reading his silent question.

Identical smiles tugged at their lips, as they saw their kids argue and fight- just like them. Maybe this future wasn't picture perfect, but it was perfect enough for them. This future was beautiful in its own way- it had been worth bending time and changing the future they were headed to. This future had brought them its own share of happiness and sorrow. But above all, in this future, they were together, and nothing else mattered. As long as she was with Justin- and the kids- she didn't care about anything else.

No Holocaust could shatter them, as long as they were together.

_-The end-_

**

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(A/N: that's it guys, this story is finally over. I'm not planning any sequel or anything. This is the end. Hope you liked the epilogue. Don't forget to hit the review button!**

**Thank you all SO MUCH for your response! Thanks for the hits, alerts, reviews and favorites. I love you guys. **

**So the question is what comes next? I'm still looking for a gripping plot for a major fic, but I do have a sweet jalex coming up. It's called 'In his absence', and it's got no villains, no problems, no angst. It's gonna be my Christmas fic for you.**

**Thank you once again. This story was an amazing learning experience for me, thanks to you guys.)**


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